A Hanyou Romance
by Aozora12
Summary: Naraku's defeat leaves peace in the land. Trapped in the feudal era, Kagome falls even more in love with Inuyasha. Now that they have time to focus on their relationship, Kagome struggles to cope with the realization that she is only human and Inuyasha will be alone after she dies. But what is it that Inuyasha is secretly planning...? Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha. Enjoy
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

The fire crackled and sent up little sparks as Kagome watched it silently from her place a few feet away. She stared into the orange and yellow flames as she waited in the middle of the dense forest. The warmth from the campfire did little to protect her from the chill of the night air, and a shiver went down her spine as a breeze blew by. She looked up from the fire now, sighing heavily. How long was he going to make her wait?

The sound of a twig snapping nearby reached her ears. Kagome quickly turned toward the sound, worried that some yokai was about to attack her. She sighed in relief when her eyes noticed the long silver hair, red haori, enchanting golden eyes, and adorable puppy ears of the hanyou known as Inuyasha as he walked into the clearing. He strode towards Kagome and the fire and briskly sat down, sighing heavily.

"There isn't a single rabbit in this forest. There's nothing here to hunt." He grumbled as he reached into the sleeve of his haori and pulled out an apple, holding it out to Kagome in his clawed hand. "This is the most food I could find. I'll go look again if you don't think you can hold out until morning." He glanced at her, a look of genuine concern gracing his face for a moment. Kagome took the apple and smiled lightly at him.

"Thanks. I'll be fine until morning, Inuyasha." She assured him with a sweet smile that expressed her gratitude for his efforts to find her food. He stared at her for a moment before turning to look into the fire, his golden eyes lighting up as they reflected the flames.

"If you get too hungry just tell me." he told her. Kagome nodded and bit into the apple. It was tart and not yet ripe; it had probably been hanging on a very small apple tree, the only one not yet eaten by whatever happened to pass by. But still Kagome was glad for the food. _Now if only I was warm_, she thought as she shivered from the cold. Suddenly she was enveloped with something warm. Kagome looked up to see Inuyasha putting his haori over her shoulders. "Don't catch a cold, stupid. If you're cold you can tell me." he frowned at her as a light blush came to her cheeks at his gesture of kindness.

"Thank you." she mumbled quietly before returning to her apple. They sat in silence for a while after that, only the crackling fire disturbing the silence. Kagome finished off her apple and tossed the remains into the fire with a yawn. "How long until we reach Jinenji's farm?" she asked Inuyasha sleepily. "We've been traveling a few days now. How much further?"

"Hm… we should make it there by noon tomorrow." Inuyasha said. "Maybe later depending on how late we wake up."

"So we're not too far away." Kagome smiled happily. She hadn't seen Jinenji in over a year. After the old well closed up, preventing Kagome from returning to the future, Jinenji had become her teacher for about a year. He had finished teaching her about medicinal herbs within that time and left to tend to his village and aging mother. After that she only heard from him through the occasional letter. Now she was going to surprise him with a visit. Although her true intention was to get a certain herb that only Jinenji could grow, she was going to enjoy seeing him again.

"You should go to sleep, Kagome." Inuyasha said after a while. Kagome merely nodded in agreement. She started to lie down on the ground but Inuyasha stopped her, pulling her onto his lap. "You'll be warmer here." He told her as he wrapped his arms around her. Kagome blushed lightly and then smiled, resting her head on his chest as he leaned back against a tree. She began to drift off to sleep, but Inuyasha's voice woke her slightly. "Kagome?" he asked quietly, almost in a whisper.

"Hm?" she replied sleepily, keeping her eyes closed.

"Good night." He whispered, his warm breath tickling her ear. Kagome smiled and mumbled a good night in return before finally falling asleep. She was fast asleep when Inuyasha leaned down and kissed her neck, watching as a dull red light began to glow around the skin where his lips touched. He kept his lips there for a few seconds before sitting up with a smirk, watching as the glow began to fade from her skin. Then he leaned back against the tree and fell asleep.

-Hi! Aozora12 here! this is my very first fanfic ever, even though I do a lot of writing as a hobby. I would really appreciate reviews, and maybe some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh on me. Still new to this ;) Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Jinenji-sensei!" Kagome cheered happily when she saw the horse hanyou for the first time in over a year. "It's good to see you!" She ran up to him and bowed respectfully, making the huge beast blush. He still wasn't used to people calling him sensei or master, and he blushed every time. But his blush only brought out his large blue eyes, which Kagome still found cute.

"Kagome-chan, what are you doing here?" the horse hanyou asked, recovering from his blush. "Is there something you need?"

"You don't see me for a year and you don't even offer a hello?" Kagome pouted. "Does Jinenji-sensei not like me?" Panic flashed in the beast's eyes now.

"No, no! Of course I like you!" he told her. Then he realized what he'd just said and blushed again. "I mean… not in that way, but as a friend! I was just… surprised to see you, Kagome-chan." Kagome merely smiled. Jinenji had changed since she first met him. He'd always been so timid and shy, and he rarely spoke, especially to girls. But she was happy to see him talking so much.

"Kagome-chan, is that you?" an elderly woman's voice came now. Kagome looked up to see Jinenji's mother standing at the door of their hut, a warm smile on her face. Kagome smiled brightly now, bowing to the elder woman.

"It's been a long time. How are you?" Kagome smiled. The older woman smiled back.

"I am well, dear. And you? Is that Inuyasha taking good care of you? Where is he, by the way?" The older woman looked around for the dog hanyou with a red haori, half expecting him to pop up out of nowhere.

"He went to the village to buy some food." Kagome smiled.

"You trust him with money… and food?" She raised an eyebrow in question. Two years ago Kagome knew she wouldn't have trusted Inuyasha with such a task, but he had started to mature recently. His rough attitude and hot temper was gradually fading and he was becoming wiser, especially during battles. He no longer charged at his opponent head-first; he watched them and waited for them to make the first move, and then he used strategy and defeated his foe with little effort. With his strength and new wisdom he was now on par with even his brother, Sesshoumaru.

"He's changed." Kagome merely smiled. Even as she said this the hanyou appeared in the distance with a bag of food over his shoulder. As he came closer Jinenji noticed something strange on Kagome's neck. At the junction of her neck and right shoulder he saw a circular patch of her skin beginning to glow a dull red color. He looked to the two women but neither of them noticed it. Now he turned to Inuyasha, who was only a few yards away and smirking as he stared at Kagome's neck, obviously seeing the same thing Jinenji saw. Inuyasha looked up at Jinenji with that smirk and held a finger to his lips, telling him silently to keep quiet about what he saw. Jinenji merely nodded.

"Here, Kagome. You need to eat something." Inuyasha said as he came up behind the young woman. He handed her a few rice balls that he'd been carrying in his hand. "I could hear your stomach growling from a mile away."

"What's this? Haven't you eaten recently, Kagome-chan?" Jinenji's mother asked Kagome with concern.

"We've been traveling a lot the past few days so we didn't really have much time to eat…" Kagome smiled lightly, looking up at Inuyasha with thanks before taking a bite out of a rice ball.

"Why don't you come in and sit down while you eat? I'll make you some tea." The older woman smiled, motioning towards her hut. She turned to her son now. "Jinenji, will you fetch some water, please?"

"Of course, mother." Jinenji said, walking off to get some fresh water. Inuyasha handed Kagome the bag of food before starting to follow Jinenji.

"I have to talk to him about something, Kagome. I'll be right back." Inuyasha told her. Kagome merely nodded and followed Jinenji's mother into the hut as Inuyasha followed Jinenji to a nearby stream. "You saw it, didn't you?" Inuyasha asked the larger hanyou, watching as he merely nodded.

"Inuyasha-san, is that…?"

"It is." Inuyasha interrupted before he could finish his question. "It's only the beginning of it, and she's not even aware of it yet. Don't say anything to her about it. Only demons and a few rare humans can see it."

"But why don't you want Kagome-chan to know?"

"I have my reasons." Inuyasha answered quickly. "Look, just don't tell her. Okay?" He looked up at Jinenji with a light smile. "I'll tell her when the right time comes, but I want to keep it a secret for now."

"Very well, Inuyasha-san. I will say nothing of it." Jinenji promised. Inuyasha smiled his thanks and then turned to head back to the hut as Jinenji gathered some water.

-Break-

Kagome hugged Jinenji's mother and then bowed to Jinenji, smiling sadly. She didn't want to leave, but she had to return to the village with the special herb Jinenji had given her. "I will miss you both." She smiled sadly at her friends. "Feel free to come by our village any time you want."

"We will." Jinenji answered, smiling with his large blue eyes. Kagome smiled back and then walked away with Inuyasha. Normally he would have carried her on his back, like he did when they were traveling in search of Naraku. But Kagome's light green kimono made that difficult these days. Sometimes Kagome wished she still had her school clothes from the future, but she knew that they would only be a painful reminder of the fact that she would never see her family again. That was why she had burned them, wanting to keep away the sad memories.

Kagome sighed quietly as she walked beside Inuyasha. Her sigh did not go unnoticed by his keen ears, and he turned to her with a light frown. "What's wrong, Kagome?" he asked. She looked up at him and smiled sadly.

"Nothing. Just remembering the shrine." She said quietly. Inuyasha knew that, when she referred to the shrine, she was talking about her family and the shrine she lived on in the future. She never called it home, not anymore. She had decided to live in the feudal era and call the village she lived in her home. Part of Inuyasha was glad that she accepted the village as her home, but another part of him pitied her for having to be apart from her friends and family from the future.

"Kagome… When we get home, do you want me to take you to the hot spring?" Inuyasha asked her now, trying to distract her from her memories. She looked up at him in surprise, her eyes wide with hope.

"Would you?" she quickly asked, smiling with excitement. Inuyasha smiled and nodded, glad that she was back to normal. He hated it when she was depressed, and he would do anything to cheer her up, even if he had to take her to an extremely hard to reach hot spring to do it. Kagome smiled happily as the hanyou nodded, and she quickly threw her arms around his torso in a hug. "Thank you! Oh, I'm so excited!" She cheered happily as she hugged him. Inuyasha merely smirked and leaned down.

"How about you thank me with a kiss?" he grinned at her, watching as a rosy blush quickly appeared on her cheeks. Her heart had skipped a beat at his words, and now it raced in her chest. Inuyasha listened to her heart happily as he waited for her answer. He knew she would be too flustered to kiss him when she actually thought about kissing him. Whenever she did kiss him first it was always a spur of the moment type of thing that she never thought about. However, when she knew a kiss was coming, she always waited for him to make the move, with her permission.

Inuyasha grinned victoriously as Kagome slowly nodded, her cheeks bright red with blush. He hooked a clawed finger under her chin and tilted her head up as he leaned down to give her a gentle chaste kiss. The fact that his kiss was chaste was a warning to Kagome, especially when she saw the glint in his golden eyes as he stood up from her. It was a warning and a promise that more was to come… but later and when she least expected it. She blushed deeply at his promising eyes, knowing that she would have to somehow explain the future hickeys to her adopted older sister, Sango, who was sure to question her nonstop about them.

Smiling at Kagome's blush, Inuyasha took her hand and they started to walk again. He was going to enjoy teasing Kagome about his promising stare as they made their way home, and he was already devising a plan on how to make her beg him to kiss her. Truthfully, his stare had promised her more than mere kissing, much more… but that part of the promise was for later, when the time was right. Until then they would do little more than kissing… but soon that would change. Yes, soon everything was about to change.

-Hi! Aozora12 here! this is my very first fanfic ever, even though I do a lot of writing as a hobby. I would really appreciate reviews, and maybe some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh on me. Still new to this ;) Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"You have some explaining to do, Kagome." The stern voice of Kagome's adopted big sister came from behind her. Kagome cringed and turned around to see Sango walking toward her, a baby boy on her hip and four-year-old twin girls following close behind her. Sango had spotted the somewhat hidden hickeys on Kagome's lower neck from several yards away, and now she was demanding an explanation. "I thought I told you not to let him leave any marks on you. The villagers will stare. This is not proper behavior of a young woman in this era, Kagome." Sango scolded.

"I-it's not like I could stop him." Kagome complained, blushing about having her hickeys pointed out. "A-and why are you scolding me about it when you have your own marks?" she pointed out the fading kissing marks on Sango's neck now, making the older woman blush.

"I-it's acceptable because I'm married, Kagome." Sango told her. "But for you… people will begin to think you're a whore or something."

"Kagome is not a whore." Inuyasha's angry voice came. Sango and Kagome turned toward his voice to find him sitting on the roof of a hut, looking as if he'd been there all along, napping. He was glaring down at Sango now. "And you know as well as I do that the villagers adore and respect Kagome as a miko. They know she wouldn't sleep with a man before marriage."

"I know that about our villagers, but what if someone important came to our village seeking the aide of a miko? And then they find these marks on her and learn that she is not married?" Sango frowned. "Do you think they would still seek her help? Do you think they wouldn't spread word that our miko is a whore?"

"Kaede is a miko, too." Inuyasha frowned. "She can see to the visitors if Kagome has my marks on her."

"But Kaede is aging, Inuyasha." Kagome spoke now. "She needs more rest and she cannot do some of the things that I can."

"What do you want me to do about that?" Inuyasha grumbled.

"Stop leaving marks on me, at least in visible places." Kagome sighed. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow now, smirking.

"Does that give me permission to go lower?" he grinned, watching as both the women blushed. He laughed at their blushes and jumped down from the roof of the hut he was sitting on.

As he came closer to Kagome the invisible mark on her neck began to glow; it was brighter than it had been at Jinenji's farm, and larger. Sango noticed it, being one of very few humans actually able to see such a thing, and she was about to ask about it when Inuyasha suddenly glared at her in warning. Normally she would dismiss his half-hearted glares, but this one was different. He was seriously warning her not to mention what she saw, and she got a chill from seeing just how serious he was.

After seeing that Sango wouldn't mention the mark she saw, Inuyasha turned to Kagome. "I won't leave the marks on your neck anymore, but I at least want your shoulders. Deal?" he asked the blushing young woman. She slowly nodded and Inuyasha smiled. "Good. Now, are you ready to go?"

"Go where?" Sango inquired now. "You just got back and you're leaving again?"

"Inuyasha is taking me to a hot spring." Kagome smiled as her blush faded. Then she turned to Inuyasha. "I need to pack a change of clothes first. Meet you at the well?"

"Yeah." Inuyasha agreed, watching as Kagome hurried toward Kaede's hut, where she'd been living since she came to stay in the feudal era. Once Kagome was out of sight Sango turned to Inuyasha.

"What was that on her neck? Was that what I think it was?" she demanded of the dog hanyou. "Was that your…"

"Mating mark?" Inuyasha finished for her with a smirk. "Sort of."

"What do you mean by sort of?" Sango asked.

"It won't be a completed mark for a few months." He told her. "Mating marks require a large amount of yoki being poured into the female. Normally this is done all at once with a bite, but Kagome would die if I put that much yoki in her right away. She's only human and it would overwhelm her." He explained. "I have to go slowly, giving her a small amount of yoki at a time so her body doesn't react badly to it."

"What's going to happen to Kagome with all that yoki being put in her?" Sango questioned, worried for her adopted sister. "Humans receiving yoki… it doesn't sound like a good mix."

"Normally it isn't." Inuyasha admitted. "But it's different with a mating mark. She won't turn into a yokai from it, like she would if I just gave her my yoki without the mark. It's more like she'll turn into a hanyou, like me. She'll gain a few yokai-like traits and she'll be able to live as long as I will."

"I'm relieved…" Sango suddenly sighed. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow in question at her. "I thought you were simply going to marry her and keep her as a human. But then you would have to watch her grow old and die, and then you would be so lonely without her. I was worried that you would die of grief without her, especially since hanyou can't have children." she told him. "But I'm glad that Kagome will be able to stay with you forever. You both deserve happiness forever." Inuyasha stared at her in surprise for a moment. Then he smiled.

"The only thing I'm worried about is when she has to watch her friends grow old before her eyes." Inuyasha sighed. "That's why I'm going to let her choose if she wants to be my mate or not."

"If that's the case then why have you marked her already?" Sango asked.

"My father waited too long to mark my mother." He sighed. "He had already slept with her and she had already conceived me when he began to mark her. He died protecting my mother shortly before my birth, but she was not fully marked by then. The yoki from my father eventually left her and she returned to being a normal human, one easily killed." He explained quietly.

"I don't want to make that mistake. I will ask her to be my mate when it is time to actually bite her to give her my yoki. If she agrees she will become a hanyou and my yoki will never leave her, even if I die. She will be strong enough to defend herself, she will never get sick again, and she will always have my yoki to remember me by should I die before her." Inuyasha smiled lightly at Sango now.

"If she refuses to spend eternity with me I will not bite her. Eventually my yoki will leave her and she will become a normal human again. I will marry her as a human, and I will be content to watch her grow old, even if it means I will be alone in the end. Then I will have to move on with my life. But this is the only way I will know if she is my life mate. After all, if she refuses, it simply means she's not my actual life mate. I will still love her forever, but I will have to keep looking for my life mate."

"Inuyasha… that's so sad…" Sango was in tears as she listened to him. She knew she could never live the life he led, full of loneliness with only a tiny glimpse of hope. Kagome was Inuyasha's only hope right now. She was the only one who could save him from the loneliness of his life. Sango prayed for both their sakes that Kagome truly was his life mate.

-Hi! Aozora12 here! this is my very first fanfic ever, even though I do a lot of writing as a hobby. I would really appreciate reviews, and maybe some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh on me. Still new to this ;) Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Kagome relaxed in the hot spring as Inuyasha busied himself by setting up a small camp out of sight of the springs. He knew from previous experiences that peeping was not tolerated, so he stayed clear of Kagome while she was in the springs. She only ever let him near the springs if she was in at least her white under kimono while she was in the water, and even then she practically hid from his eyes while he was near.

"Inuyasha!" The sound of Kagome's terrified shriek reached Inuyasha's ears. At once he was on his feet and running toward the spring, his sword drawn to fend off any perverted yokai that had decided to attack Kagome. He made it to the spring expecting to find a yokai there. Instead he saw Kagome screaming and flailing her arm around wildly, trying to shake something off of her. Inuyasha's sharp eyes noticed what it was even with how much flailing Kagome was doing. He sighed in a mixture of relief and annoyance, with just a touch of humor. A harmless garden snake had decided that it liked Kagome's scent, so it had wrapped itself around her arm. "Get it off!" Kagome screamed.

Inuyasha sighed as he sheathed his sword. He was visibly relieved, but also slightly amused. Kagome was not afraid of yokai that could kill her within seconds, but she was terrified of a harmless garden snake. It was funny the way she feared small things like that. He was also amused at the fact that, due to her fear, she had not realized that she was naked and showing everything to Inuyasha. He watched Kagome as she tried to shake the helpless snake from her arm, his eyes wandering over her beautiful body for a few moments.

Standing in hot waist-deep water, Kagome almost looked like a water goddess. Her fair and flawless skin greatly contrasted with the water, which was dark from the fading light in the sky. Inuyasha found his eyes wandering up her round hips to her flat plane of a stomach. Then his eyes lifted upwards, towards her perky breasts, which had grown considerably since she'd been stuck in the feudal era. Once only an a-cup, her breasts were now much larger and fuller… but not too large. A c-cup now, her breasts were the perfect size in Inuyasha's opinion.

Moving further up, Inuyasha's eyes came to rest on Kagome's slender neck. He could see his mating mark glowing from their close proximity, but it seemed to be just a tad bit duller than earlier. He would have to give her more yoki tonight, and he would have to increase the dosage just a little from now on. Her body was accepting his yoki quickly, and he was thankful for that. He guessed that it would only be another six months before he needed to bite her to make his mark permanent.

Inuyasha looked up at her face now, smiling as her frightened face seemed incredibly cute to him. Her chocolate brown eyes begged him to get rid of the heinous snake wrapped around her arm. He merely looked at her hair now. Her raven tresses were much longer now than they had been when he first met her. Once only shoulder-length, her hair was now half-way down her back. She normally kept it tied back with a green ribbon he had given her once.

"Inuyasha, get it off!" Kagome's shriek snapped him back to the present. He caught the scent of salty tears forming in her eyes and decided that she'd dealt with the snake long enough. He caught her flailing arm quickly and gently pulled the harmless green snake away from her arm. He put it in the grass and watched as it slithered away. Then he turned back to Kagome, expecting to see her having calmed down. Instead he found even more tears coming to her eyes as her face turned bright red. He was about to ask her what was wrong when she closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath. "OSUWARI!"

-break-

Kagome expected Inuyasha to fall to the ground with a thud, leaving an imprint in the earth. With as loud as she'd yelled that enchanted word she wouldn't be surprised if the hole he left was several feet deep. It served him right for seeing her naked. She expected him to either be unconscious or spouting profanities at her, but instead her ears caught the sound of Inuyasha laughing, a surprisingly calm and gentle laugh.

"Forgetting something, Kagome?" Inuyasha chuckled, pulling his haori off to reveal that the rosary he once wore was no longer there. Kagome had removed the rosary over a year ago when he proved to her that he could behave. Kagome blushed deeply, having forgotten that she had removed the rosary. Then her embarrassment turned to anger as she once again realized that she was still standing naked in front of him. She quickly covered herself and hid in the water.

"Stop staring!" she shouted angrily. Inuyasha merely smirked at her.

"You're the one who called for me because of a little snake. Don't get mad at me when you're the one who wanted me over here." He chuckled, standing as he pulled his haori back on. Kagome blushed as she realized that he was right, but she was still upset that he had seen her… "You should get out soon, before it gets too cold." Inuyasha told her now as he started to walk away. "I don't want you to get sick on me." He glanced back at her with a gentle smile that made Kagome's heart skip a beat.

Until recently he had always been so rough and hot-tempered, and he rarely gave her that smile. Even when she had yelled Osuwari just now, he would've gone off on her, demanding why she would still use that word on him. And he certainly would never have simply laughed gently at it and then walked away while saying something like he didn't want her to get sick, especially not with that gentle smile. Inuyasha had really matured recently. He was becoming a fine man… a man she couldn't help but love even more every day.

-Hi! Aozora12 here! this is my very first fanfic ever, even though I do a lot of writing as a hobby. I would really appreciate reviews, and maybe some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh on me. Still new to this ;) Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Kagome was unaware as Inuyasha gave her another dose of his yoki. Normally she would have sensed the strange feeling of yoki flowing into her, but Inuyasha always made her feel strange when he kissed her. She couldn't tell that the strange feeling of his yoki merging into her aura was any different from the strange feelings he already gave her when they kissed. Her heart would race and her body tingled, and she would always feel weak and breathless after a while. Inuyasha enjoyed teasing her with his lips and tongue, showing off just how superior a much older hanyou was at kissing than an eighteen-year-old girl.

Inuyasha growled approvingly as Kagome's body shivered from his yoki-filled kiss; a positive reaction to his yoki. Her body was already accepting him as her mate, and his yoki was starting to arouse her whenever he gave her another dose. At first he had only given her his yoki at night, after she was asleep, but now he gave it to her during the day. He would only wake her at night if he gave her his yoki; her body would react to it and she would become aroused to the point of waking. If this happened too many times she would begin to question him about it, and he still wanted to keep his mark a secret from her. He was surprised and thankful that she still hadn't noticed it.

There were only two months left before his mark was ready to be made permanent. Already Kagome's body had undergone some changes that only yokai and certain humans could see. She had a tiny set of fangs in her mouth, and some of his silver hair was blending into her raven hair. Normal humans still could not see it, and even yokai had trouble seeing the small silver strands of hair among her raven tresses, but Inuyasha noticed it instantly. Sango noticed the silver hairs, too, but only after looking closely for them.

Sango had told Miroku and Kaede about Inuyasha's mark, and they had all agreed to stay silent about it until the time came. Shippou, however, was another matter. He, like any other yokai, could clearly see how Kagome was changing, and he noticed the mark on her neck whenever Inuyasha was near. Sango, Miroku, or Kaede had to constantly watch him and stop him if he was about to mention it to Kagome. They tried to explain things to him, but the little kit either didn't understand or wouldn't listen.

Inuyasha left plenty of hickeys on Kagome's shoulders, making sure they wouldn't be visible to others. He knew Sango was right. If an outsider came into the village seeking Kagome's help and they saw the marks on her, and then learned that she was not married, they would surely spread rumors that Kagome was a whore. He didn't want to burden Kagome with such cruel rumors and the title of a whore, so he made sure there would be no reason for the rumors to even start.

The scent of Kagome's arousal spiking reached Inuyasha's nose, and he grinned as he left another hickey on the front of her shoulder, dangerously close to her perky breast. He knew she was no longer reacting to his yoki, but to his kiss. Kagome wanted him, and she probably wouldn't mind if he took her right that second. But Inuyasha had a plan for when he finally did take her, and he was not going to ruin it. For now he was going to make her wait, knowing that the longer she waited the more she would want him.

"It's getting late." Inuyasha sat up from her now. "Do you want to sleep out here with me or should I take you to Kaede's?"

"I want to stay with you." Kagome said quietly, still blushing from their kissing. Inuyasha merely smiled and leaned back against the trunk tree they were sitting in. The large branch they sat on now was one of his favorite places to sleep. It was wide enough so he had no fear of falling easily, and it was sheltered from the wind and rain by other massive branches, thick with leaves. It was also well hidden from sight, and people below had a hard time seeing him through the dense leaves. Sometimes he went there just to be alone by himself, and other times to be alone with Kagome.

Inuyasha adjusted them so that Kagome would be comfortable and warm as she slept in his arms. She had slept with him on this branch a few times before, and she trusted him to keep her from falling twenty feet to her death. Now the only problem was warmth. It was late fall and there was a chill in the night air. Inuyasha could handle the cold easily, but Kagome could get sick. Inuyasha took his haori off and put it over Kagome's shoulders to act as a blanket for her. Trapped between the warm hanyou and the insulated fire-rat haori, Kagome would be nice and warm as she slept.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome looked up at the hanyou in the dim late-evening light. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did." he smirked, earning a light glare from Kagome.

"I'm serious." She frowned. Inuyasha sighed and slowly nodded. "What are you going to do… when I grow old and die?" she asked him quietly, surprising him. He stared down at her and saw that she was looking up at him with concern. He flattened his ears against his skull at the mere thought of her dying. So she had thought that far ahead? But so had he, and that's why he was planning to mark her as his mate, so that would never happen.

"Kagome, it's too early to be thinking of that just yet." He merely said quietly, not wanting to reveal his plan so soon.

"No, it's not." Kagome frowned. "I mean… I'm only human. Even I know how easily I could die. If not from old age, then sickness or injury… I could die at any moment, Inuyasha." She said quietly, her eyes filling with tears. "If I died, then you would be alone… I don't want you to be alone forever, Inuyasha… especially because I can't give you any children… you would be all alone…"

"Kagome…" Inuyasha stared softly at her as she started to cry. She wasn't afraid of death; she was afraid that Inuyasha would be alone forever. She had thought about this many, many times. At first she had wanted to at least leave him a few kids, to remind him about her… but then she learned that hanyou are infertile, except when they are in their human form. But Kagome didn't want a human child that would eventually die, just like she would, and leave Inuyasha alone. She would've been so happy to be able to have a hanyou child, maybe with its father's cute ears.

"It really hurts, Inuyasha. I know I'll be happy until the day I die because I have you by my side… but you'll be all alone after I die. I'm mad at myself because I'll have a happy ending and you'll only be hurt." Kagome cried, burying her face in the hanyou's chest. "I wish I was part yokai, too, so I could stay with you forever…" Inuyasha's heart jumped at this. She… wanted to live with him forever? Even if it meant becoming part yokai? Had she read his mind? Did she somehow find out about his mark? No, she couldn't have… so these were her real feelings? Or was she just saying that to make him feel better?

"Kagome, what would you do if I told you I could make you live as long as I do?" Inuyasha asked her. "What if I could do exactly as you said and turn you into a hanyou? What would you do if I had the ability to do that?" Kagome quickly looked up at him through her tears, hope filling her eyes.

"Can you?" she asked.

"I'm not saying I can, but I'm not saying I can't. But if I could, then what would you do?" he repeated. She stared at him for a moment and he watched as more tears filled her eyes and ran down her cheeks.

"I would ask you to do it right away." She said quietly after a while. "I would ask you to make me a hanyou so I wouldn't have to leave you all alone and…" Inuyasha leaned down and pressed his lips against hers in a tender kiss, pulling her even closer to him. His heart was so full of love for this woman that it ached and throbbed constantly… and she only made him love her even more every day.

"I love you, Kagome, so very, very much." He whispered in her ear after the kiss. Then he leaned down and gave her another yoki-filled kiss on her neck. While it was best for her to accept small doses of yoki, she was now at a point where she could receive larger doses. Her body would have a mild reaction, of course, but she would only assume it was a fever and it would only last a day or two. Inuyasha didn't want her to feel sick because of his yoki, but he wanted to speed up the process of marking her as his mate. If what she said was true, if she truly wanted to be with him forever, he wasn't going to hold back anymore. With this large dose of his yoki, and then a few more equally large doses that she would react to less than this one, she would be able to become his mate within the next two to three weeks. Inuyasha could only pray that, when the time came, she still wanted to be with him forever, even if it meant being part yokai.

-Hi! Aozora12 here! this is my very first fanfic ever, even though I do a lot of writing as a hobby. I would really appreciate reviews, and maybe some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh on me. Still new to this ;) Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"What ails Kagome?" Kaede asked as Inuyasha carried the sleeping woman into her hut the next morning. She walked over to Inuyasha and Kagome and quickly pressed her palm against Kagome's forehead. "A fever… quickly, put her to bed. I shall prepare some medicine." She started to go to a cabinet full of herbs and spices used for medicine, but Inuyasha stopped her.

"Medicine won't help." Inuyasha told her. "She's having a mild reaction to my yoki. She'll be fine by evening, tomorrow morning at the latest." Kaede stopped and stared at Inuyasha with her one good eye.

"Ye gave the girl too much? That is unusual, even for ye." She said after a while. Inuyasha merely carried the sleeping Kagome to her futon and laid her down, covering her with the blanket.

"It was on purpose." He told her. "To speed up the marking process."

"Why would ye do that?" Kaede asked. Inuyasha looked up at her with a light smirk.

"She pretty much told me that she wished she was hanyou, like me, so I wouldn't be all alone when she died." He explained, smiling tenderly at Kagome as she slept. "It was almost like she knew what I was doing to her and accepted it… only she doesn't know."

"I see… so how long until the mark is made permanent?" Kaede questioned.

"If I give her doses like that it should only take about three more doses… I want to spread them out so she doesn't get too overwhelmed, and then I want to give her a break before I make it permanent." Inuyasha explained to her. "It should be about three, four weeks at most."

"And how soon after that do ye expect a child?" Kaede asked, surprising Inuyasha. He looked up at her for a moment before frowning.

"You know hanyou are infertile unless in their human forms." He frowned at the old woman, who merely smiled knowingly.

"Do not lie to me, Inuyasha. It is fine that ye wish to surprise both Kagome and the others, but you cannot surprise me." Kaede smiled as she slowly sat down beside Kagome's futon. She looked up at Inuyasha now. "I am too old to be so easily fooled by a tricky hanyou. I know that hanyou may have children with only their life mate. If Kagome is your life mate, then she can bear your child. I know ye are also aware of this, so answer my question." Inuyasha stared at her in shock for a moment before laughing lightly.

"I really can't pull one over on you, granny. Honestly, I plan on getting her pregnant within a year. But keep that bit a secret, will you?" He smirked. "I know how disappointed Kagome is that she thinks she can't have any children with me, and I know she'll be really happy to know that she actually can have children with me. She'll make a good mother, and I'll try my best to be a good dad." He smiled down at Kagome as she slept, completely unaware of the conversation happening beside her. "I'll have to wait about four months or so while she adapts to my mating mark, but after that I want to try right away."

"Kagome will make an excellent mother." Kaede smiled now. Inuyasha returned her smile with one of his own.

"Yeah, she sure will."

-break-

Kagome tried to steady her hand as she brought the spoon to her mouth, but her hand kept shaking and the soup spilled back into the bowl. Kaede watched as Kagome attempted this three times, failing each time before the soup got to her mouth. Then she slowly walked over to the feverish girl and took the bowl from her as she sat by the futon.

"Would ye enjoy some help, Kagome?" Kaede smiled kindly at the younger woman that resembled her older sister. Kagome looked up at her, wanting to refuse… but she knew she wouldn't be able to eat like this.

"Yes, please." She said quietly. "Thank you, Kaede." Kaede merely smiled gently at her and held the bowl of soup to her lips. Kagome drank the soup quickly, starving. This fever was like no other fever she'd ever had. Along with the weakness and fever came an incredible hunger, mostly for some sort of meat. She felt like she could, quite literally, eat an entire cow… and she was even thinking about doing just that.

"If ye eat too much your stomach will not be able to hold it all." Kaede chuckled, seeing how hungry Kagome was. Kaede knew that Kagome was starving because Inuyasha's yoki took much energy from her as she was changing. She needed to eat constantly to have enough energy to turn hanyou.

"I can't help it. I'm hungry…" Kagome complained. "This is the weirdest fever I've ever had… and it keeps coming back. This is the third week in a row that I've had this fever. Is something wrong with me, Kaede?" she looked up at the older woman, concern and fear in her eyes.

"It is fall, Kagome. Many people fall ill this time of year. While it is indeed strange that ye have become feverish at least one time each week for the past three weeks, ye must remember that ye are a strong woman. So worry not. The fever shall run its course eventually and ye shall be healthy again soon." Kaede told her. She wasn't lying; many people did fall ill this time of year. But Kagome was not ill. In fact, she was far from it. She was a very healthy young woman that was only getting stronger every day because of Inuyasha's yoki coursing through her body.

Kagome seemed to relax at Kaede's words. She lay down on her futon, still weak from the fever but not tired enough to fall asleep. She stared up at the roof of the hut as Kaede left her side. After staring at the roof for a while she got bored and turned to Kaede, who was sorting through her herbs and spices.

"Kaede, do you know where Inuyasha is?" she asked the older woman quietly.

"He and Miroku have gone to perform an exorcism in a nearby village." Kaede answered without looking up. "They should return shortly." Kagome sighed quietly, frowning. She really wanted to see Inuyasha. At least he would do something to keep her from being bored. Now she had nothing to do but stare up at the roof again and wait patiently for her fever to go away. Thankfully, sleep eventually overcame her as she stared at the roof. _At least now I won't be so bored_, she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

-Hi! Aozora12 here! this is my very first fanfic ever, even though I do a lot of writing as a hobby. I would really appreciate reviews, and maybe some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh on me. Still new to this ;) Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"How long will ye be gone, Inuyasha?" Kaede asked the hanyou in a whisper as he gathered some of Kagome's kimonos, being mindful not to wake the sleeping young woman. Inuyasha looked up at her and smiled lightly.

"We'll be back in a few days if she refuses to become my life mate." He told her.

"And if she accepts?" Kaede questioned.

"It might be a few months. Probably sometime around spring." He told her as he returned to the clothes he was gathering.

"Why so long?"

"Kagome is turning into a hanyou, Kaede. She'll be part yokai, and she won't know how to control her new strength. I'll have to teach her. Plus, with my mating mark, she'll get some of my personality… and you know how I can be sometimes." He smirked at Kaede.

"Aye, that I do." Kaede sighed.

"She will be easier to tame than I was, but it's still going to take some time. And then I have to get used to my own changes…"

"Ye will also change?" Kaede inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"It comes with finding a mate. The male grows stronger in order to protect the female." He explained. "I will be stronger, faster, and probably even more mature, all just to protect Kagome." He finished gathering her clothes together and then stood. "I'm going to take her clothes to the den I've prepared. Tell Kagome that, when I come back, I'm taking her on a trip to the hot spring. Don't let her pack any clothes, and tell her to meet me by the well in two days." He requested of Kaede, who merely nodded. Inuyasha smiled his thanks and then left. In two days he would take Kagome to the hot spring, as he said, and there he would ask her to be his mate. Her answer decided their future, and he could only hope that their future would be much longer than the average human life.

-break-

Sango gave Kagome a warm hug as she prepared to leave the village to wait for Inuyasha. Kagome had no idea of what was in store for her, but all her friends knew. Sango was extremely nervous for Kagome and Inuyasha. She wanted them to be together forever, not just until Kagome died. Kaede also wished for their eternal happiness. Miroku was probably the least nervous of the three, somehow knowing that everything would turn out alright. He tried his hardest not to say anything perverted about the events to come as he gave Kagome a quick hug. Then the trio watched as Kagome left the village, headed for the well she had first appeared out of. All of them knew they would not see her again until the spring.

-break-

Kagome smiled as she sank into the hot water of the natural hot spring. It was a rare treat to be able to come to the hot spring. The last time she'd been there was after going to Jinenji's farm, nearly six months ago. Inuyasha didn't like going to the hard-to-reach spring in the mountains, so he only took her whenever she seemed depressed or constantly begged him to take her. Now Kagome wondered why he had suddenly decided on this trip. She hadn't been depressed lately; in fact, she'd been overly happy with the exception of her fevers. So why had he taken her here?

"Kagome." Inuyasha's voice suddenly came, snapping her out of her thoughts. She looked up in surprise to see Inuyasha standing by the hot spring, staring down at her. In broad afternoon daylight the spring water was crystal clear, and he had an unobstructed view of her entire body beneath the still water… but he wasn't staring at her body. His golden eyes stared straight into her eyes, a serious look to them. For a moment he almost looked like Sesshoumaru… It was this seriousness that kept Kagome from screaming at him not to look. "I'm coming in." he told her, his voice calm and firm.

"W-what?" Kagome questioned quietly, stunned. Inuyasha said nothing more as he pulled off his haori and then his shirt. She blushed deeply and turned away as he began to pull at his hakama. He was serious… he was really coming in!

Inuyasha stripped and then stepped into the spring, sending ripples across the water that bounced around Kagome's shoulders. Kagome had turned away from him, embarrassed at the possibility of seeing him naked. Inuyasha smirked at this; she was so innocent… He slowly made his way over to the flustered woman, gently resting his hands on her slender shoulders. He turned her around to face him, and then he placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

Kagome's heart skipped a beat in her chest at his kiss while her mind raced nonstop. Inuyasha was in the hot spring with her. He was serious, not playing around. They were both naked. He was kissing her. This could only mean one thing… only one thing…

"You know what's going to happen tonight, Kagome." Inuyasha whispered in her ear. He stepped back slightly to stare down at her bright red face. Her chocolate brown eyes gazed back up at him with love, excitement, and nervousness… a good mix. He could hear her heart racing loudly in her chest and he could smell her anticipation and nervousness. She was excited and wanted it to happen, but she was also scared. It made sense to Inuyasha. She was, after all, still a virgin. "I have a question for you before that." He told her now, reaching up to gently caress her face with his clawed hand.

"W-what?" Kagome asked quietly, her voice just barely audible even to his ears.

"A few weeks ago you told me that you wished you could be hanyou, like me, so we could be together forever." He reminded her. "Do you still feel that way?" Kagome slowly nodded. "Don't lie to me just to make me feel better, Kagome…" he warned gently.

"I'm not." She told him, staring up at him with the seriousness he had displayed earlier. "I would rather be hanyou than human. At least then you won't be alone after I die, because I'll live as long as you do."

"Are you sure you want to be hanyou?" Inuyasha questioned. "You've seen how people treat me. They would treat you just the same. Humans will think you are a monster and yokai will think you are nothing but a filthy mutt, unworthy to even lick the mud from their shoes."

"I don't care! I don't care as long as I could be by your side!" Kagome told him, feeling tears form in her eyes. "I just want to be by your side… and I don't want you to be all alone forever…"

"Are you certain that's what you want, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked. She slowly nodded, trying her hardest to hold back her tears and seem serious about this.

"Why? Can you do it, Inuyasha? Can you make me hanyou?" she asked. Her voice wavered a little as her tears threatened to overflow. "Please… if you can, I want to be hanyou, like you…"

"I can make you a hanyou, Kagome." Inuyasha told her. Kagome stared up at him for a moment, and she was about to beg him to turn her into one. But Inuyasha stopped her. "Kagome, tonight we are either going to be married or mated. I'm going to let you choose which one, but I'm not going to tell you which choice will make me turn you."

"W-what? Why?" Kagome whimpered.

"I can only turn one person in my life. Only that one person will know which answer to choose; they will be able to sense which one I want them to choose." He explained. "So choose. Right now."

"R-right now?" Kagome repeated. He nodded, staring at her seriously again. She stared up at him for a moment. "I choose… mate…" she said quietly. At Inuyasha's silence she feared she picked the wrong answer. "W-was it marriage?!" she whimpered, starting to cry. "Did I pick wrong? Will you not turn me, Inuyasha?"

"Kagome…" Inuyasha suddenly pulled her close to him in a warm embrace, holding her tightly to his chest. "It's okay, Kagome. You picked the right answer. No human would pick mating over marriage, not unless they could sense the correct answer." He let go a little so he could lean down and kiss her. "Kagome, you don't understand how happy I am. Every yokai searches their entire life for their mate, and I've finally found mine! I'm so happy…"

Kagome blushed deeply when Inuyasha suddenly scooped her up into his arms. He started to carry her out of the spring. "W-where are we going?" Kagome whimpered as he carried her away from the spring. He took her to the small camp he'd set up an hour earlier. Unlike their previous visits to this spring, this time Inuyasha had brought a blanket and a pillow. He knew Kagome wouldn't enjoy having her first time on the cold hard ground, so he had been prepared and brought the blanket to make her more comfortable.

Inuyasha put Kagome down on the blanket and then quickly moved so he was leaning over her. He didn't care that they were still dripping wet from the spring. He didn't care that their clothes were left by the spring. He didn't care that it was broad daylight out. He had just found his mate, and he was not letting her go.

"You chose mate, Kagome. So I'm going to make you my mate…"

-Hi! Aozora12 here! this is my very first fanfic ever, even though I do a lot of writing as a hobby. I would really appreciate reviews, and maybe some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh on me. Still new to this ;) Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Inuyasha growled in contempt as he held his mate close, listening to her steady breathing. He could wake up like this every morning, his mate sleeping peacefully in his arms, and be happy for the rest of his life. Although he would like for her to have finished changing by tomorrow…

Kagome was changing right before his eyes. His yoki was turning her into a hanyou, being assisted by the blood he put in her when he bit her. He had bitten the inside of his cheek to draw blood. When he bit her to make his mating mark permanent he had given her some of his blood to help ease her through the changes. Now he was watching as his already beautiful Kagome became even more beautiful to his eyes.

The first change he noticed when he woke up this morning was her hair. His silver strands were now mixed with her raven strands. Her hair was still as black as night, but now it shone in the sun, reflecting his silver strands. The only noticeable differences to her hair aside from that were the two locks of silver hair that outlined each side of her face. The rest of her hair was still that same raven color with hidden silver.

Then Inuyasha's eyes moved to her body. Her curves were becoming more defined before his very eyes while, at the same time, her muscles were growing stronger and her skin was becoming tougher. She grew about two inches in height, as well, and now her fingers had the same claws that he had on his hands.

Now he returned to her head, smirking as he noticed the fangs in her mouth. They were still tiny fangs, but they were noticeable now. Her lips were fuller and her skin was flawless. Her nose twitched occasionally, and he knew she would have his sense of smell. Then he wondered about her sense of hearing, so he turned to her ears, somewhat surprised that they were no longer on the side of her head. He looked up and grinned happily as he saw the two fuzzy black dog ears on the top of her head, flattened against her skull as she slept in her mate's much stronger arms.

Inuyasha had also undergone some changes, though his changes happened much faster. His entire body had matured into an adult body, unlike the boyish body he'd had before. His shoulders were broader and his muscles were larger and more defined. He had matured mentally, as well, though he would have to test that out later. His long silver hair was shorter now, only reaching between his shoulder blades, his forelocks were gone, and he had pulled it back into a low ponytail on a whim, subconsciously deciding to change his hairstyle. He seemed so completely different… yet the same.

He returned to staring at his sleeping mate, smiling as he looked at her mating mark again. Normally a mating mark was flashier and didn't have any words on it, but Kagome's mark was simply Inuyasha's name in bright red kanji, surrounded by a circle of gold, the same color as his eyes. Just below the mating mark was his bite mark, which would never disappear, mostly because he would continue to bite her there when they mated, as a sign of passion.

Kagome's changes gradually began to slow down, and Inuyasha watched as they stopped completely. He grinned; she was done changing and now she was a complete hanyou. With her changes complete, Kagome began to wake. She moaned quietly in her sleep and shifted, and Inuyasha could tell that her breathing pattern changed. He smiled and held her closer as she began to slowly open her now-gold eyes to stare at him sleepily.

"Inu…yasha?" she questioned quietly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Is that… you? Why do you look so different?" she mumbled sleepily.

"I've matured and grown stronger to protect my mate." Inuyasha told her. Even his voice sounded different. Now it was a smooth, charming baritone, but you could still tell it was his voice. "You've changed as well, Kagome. You're a hanyou now." he smiled gently at his still drowsy mate, knowing that she still didn't quite comprehend anything he was saying. She was too sleepy to listen much, but she found his voice soothing. She moved close to him and nestled her head under his chin, closing her eyes to go back to sleep. Inuyasha merely chuckled at this and let her return to sleep, knowing that she was exhausted from last night. She deserved to get plenty of rest; it wasn't every day you lost your virginity, after all.

-break-

Kagome stared longingly outside through the entrance to the den. She wanted to go outside. She didn't want to be stuck in the den all day, but Inuyasha wouldn't let her out. He had told her many times that it was too dangerous for her to go outside. Nothing would happen to her… but she might lose control once she caught the scent of humans. So she had to stay in the den until her new yokai blood settled down and she mastered controlling her strength.

Inuyasha walked into the den now, a dead rabbit in each hand. Instantly Kagome was on her feet and running toward her mate, throwing her arms around him in a warm embrace and inhaling deeply to breathe in his familiar scent. Being newly mated, she was still very clingy to him. She hated when he left to hunt, because she couldn't go with him and she was left alone until he returned. Then she was always so happy when he finally returned.

"I missed you, too, Kagome." Inuyasha smiled gently at his mate. He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. "Are you hungry?" he asked her. She slowly nodded as she stepped back from him. "One rabbit is for lunch. The other is for dinner." He told her.

"Should I make a stew for dinner? You brought a pot with the supplies, and I saw some vegetables back there." She said quietly, looking toward the back of the spacious underground den. It was almost like a bear's den, only it was tall enough to stand up in and large enough to move around freely in. Along the back wall of the den were some supplies that Inuyasha had brought before he mated Kagome. On the left wall was a bed of animal furs, and the right wall had a basket of clothes against it. In the center of the den was a fireplace, small holes in the den above it to let the smoke filter out of the air. The den entrance was magically enchanted so that it was the size of a rabbit hole most of the time, but then expanded whenever Inuyasha came near, growing large enough for him to easily walk into the den.

"A stew sounds good." Inuyasha smiled. "But first comes lunch, okay?"

"O-okay." Kagome answered quietly. She had become much quieter ever since they mated, although Inuyasha knew that this was only a temporary side effect of being newly mated. Her new instincts were telling her to be a quiet and submissive mate, but Inuyasha liked it better when she was loud and rebellious, even though it was nice to have her quiet sometimes. Being her alpha, he wouldn't let her challenge his dominance too much, but he would be able to withstand her rebellious nature to a certain extent. If it got too much he would simply put her back in place with a warning bite. But still, he would rather have his loud and assertive Kagome back.

-Hi! Aozora12 here! this is my very first fanfic ever, even though I do a lot of writing as a hobby. I would really appreciate reviews, and maybe some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh on me. Still new to this ;) Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Sango gently rocked the baby boy in her arms, cooing gently to him to get him to go to sleep. His sisters were already asleep, but hunger had kept the baby awake longer. She had nursed him and now she wanted to get him to sleep so she, too, could go to sleep.

"You look so beautiful with my son in your arms." Miroku came up behind her and whispered in her ear. Sango blushed and then smiled affectionately at her husband, turning to look up at him. The monk smiled and kissed his wife tenderly before standing up and looking out the window, subconsciously hoping to see the bright red haori of a certain hanyou.

"They've been gone for three months." Sango said, being quiet so as not to wake the now sleeping infant. "Spring has already arrived. Shouldn't they be back by now?"

"Give them time. It's a good sign that they've been away so long, because that only means that Kagome agreed to be his life mate. She's probably training to control her new strength and urge to kill." Miroku told her.

"But hanyou don't have the urge to kill…" Sango told him, remembering her studies as a demon slayer. "They only have that urge when their inner yokai comes loose."

"Yes, but Kagome has just been turned into a hanyou, and her new yokai blood is probably still boiling. Inuyasha is probably waiting until her blood settles to bring her back. Until then it is not safe to let her out of his sight, as she might attack any human she sees." He explained to her.

"I see… I suppose you're right." Sango said quietly. "That alone would take much time. And then she also has to learn to control her strength and use her new senses. If she's becoming an inu hanyou she'll have increased hearing and smell. Inuyasha will probably teach her how to track and listen for disturbances in her surroundings."

"Those abilities will come in handy one day." Miroku smiled. "I'm envious of them, really. It would be awesome to have such sharp senses like that."

"Too bad we're only human. I feel bad that Kagome is going to have to watch us grow old and die. She's saving Inuyasha from the loneliness of her death, but will Inuyasha be able to save her from the grief of our deaths?"

-break-

Kagome followed the scent of her mate through the forest. He was several hundred yards in front of her, teaching her how to use her nose to track. Able to hide his scent in the air, he made sure to only leave his scent on the occasional leaf or small tree branch. The rest was up to Kagome.

She stopped in her tracks, her sharp ears detecting movement around her. She turned, expecting to see a rabbit, at most a dear, but she gasped in surprise when she saw the lone wolf watching her with its cold and hungry eyes. Kagome knew that this wolf wasn't alone; wolves traveled in packs. So where was its pack?

Just as Kagome was about to yell for her mate a pack of wolf demons appeared, surrounding her. Kagome, still quiet and submissive from being newly mated, quickly became frightened. In her fear she didn't realize that many of the wolf yokai seemed familiar to her, although they didn't recognize her in this form. It wasn't until a certain pack leader stepped forward that Kagome's fear faded slightly.

Kouga, unaware that it was Kagome that he had cornered, approached the frightened hanyou woman, thinking that it was strange to find a hanyou in the middle of the forest if it wasn't Inuyasha. Especially a female hanyou that smelled very similar to Inuyasha… he knew something strange was going on. He wasn't going to hurt her, just ask her some questions to satisfy his curiosity.

"Oi, woman." Kouga got the hanyou woman's attention. She quickly turned to look at him, and both sets of eyes widened in surprise as they quickly recognized each other. "Kagome…?"

"K-Kouga?" Kagome stared up at him in surprise. What was he doing in this forest? This was still Inuyasha's territory… so why was Kouga here? Normally he stayed far away from Inuyasha.

Kagome stared at Kouga and he stared back. Then she suddenly flattened her ears to her skull and took a few steps back from him. She knew Inuyasha and Kouga were rivals, and her new instincts told her to stay away from her mate's enemy. But she couldn't go anywhere with the wolf yokai surrounding her, and she knew that Inuyasha would be angry if he caught Kouga's scent on her and she didn't call for him. As Kouga took a curious step towards her she took in a deep breath and screamed.

"Inuyasha!" she cried out for her mate, just as Kouga was putting two and two together in his mind. Kagome… was a hanyou… a dog hanyou. That could only mean that Inuyasha had mated her… and if Inuyasha had mated her, then he was probably still teaching her to control her new abilities. That was why they were out here in the forest. But that also mean that they were newly mated… and that meant that Inuyasha was going to be a very angry hanyou if he found another male's scent on his mate. So, being cautious, Kouga quickly backed away, growling at his men to do the same. They all took a few steps back just as a blur of red and silver landed in the clearing.

Kouga stared in shock at the hanyou before him. He was taller, stronger, and very intimidating. He had suddenly changed from looking like a kid in his late teens to looking like an adult in his mid-twenties. Firm jaw, broad shoulders, and muscles all over… Inuyasha was no longer a boy; he was a man. And the cold glare in his eyes told Kouga that he was pissed.

"What are you doing to my mate?" Inuyasha growled as Kagome ran into his arms, her ears lowered as she whined quietly in an attempt to tell him that she hadn't encountered the wolves on purpose. Inuyasha merely pulled her close to his chest and sniffed her, making sure that only his scent was on her. When he was satisfied he returned to glaring at Kouga, who still had yet to mature by finding a mate. He still looked like a boy in his late teens, and Kouga knew that he was no longer a match for Inuyasha.

"I swear I didn't do anything." Kouga quickly told him, not in the mood to get into a fight with a much stronger and newly-mated, and therefore aggressive, inu hanyou. "My pack and I were actually looking for you for your help and we came across her. I thought she was just a lost hanyou woman. I had no idea that you'd mated Kagome." When Inuyasha continued to glare Kouga took a few more steps back, feeling like he was actually staring at Sesshoumaru. Well, they were brothers, after all. Finally, seeing that there was a much better distance between Kagome and Kouga, Inuyasha stopped glaring.

"What did you need my help for?" Inuyasha asked, surprising Kouga. He had expected Inuyasha to yell at him to go away or just flat-out refuse to help him. He hadn't expected his mind to mature as well.

"A-actually, we technically needed Kagome's help… that's why we were going to your village." Kouga laughed nervously, glancing at Kagome, who was now practically hiding behind Inuyasha. He knew that she was easily frightened now, her instincts telling her to be wary of strangers and especially her mate's rival. "A lot of my men are sick and we need some medicine, you see."

"Go to my village. Kaede will help you." Inuyasha told him. "Kagome, however, cannot leave the area around our den for a while. If she goes near humans she might attack them."

"So she's… really been turned into a hanyou?" Kouga questioned. Inuyasha nodded and then frowned when Kouga didn't seem to believe it. He moved Kagome around to stand in front of him, showing the wolf her new hanyou features. Kouga stared at her dog ears and silver highlights in her hair beside her face. Then he saw her golden eyes and the fangs in her mouth, and then the small claws on her hands. She really was a hanyou. "I always thought that only purebloods could do that to a human mate."

"It only worked for us because I, unlike most hanyou, can manipulate my yoki. My blood is that of a hanyou so she also became a hanyou. Marking a mate depends on the yoki and the blood." Inuyasha explained before growling a low warning. "Now stop staring at my mate." He pulled Kagome back into his arms and she quickly moved to be partially under his haori, shivering slightly from the chill of early spring. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm. "Look, Kagome isn't going to be able to make you any medicine. Just go to Kaede and she'll help… or there's a hanyou by the name of Jinenji about three days away from here; he'll be able to make effective medicine better than Kaede. But hurry up and leave, either way. I don't like you being in my territory, especially now that I'm mated."

"Y-yeah. We'll be on our way, then." Kouga said, wisely deciding not to anger Inuyasha. He turned to Kagome. "Congratulations, Kagome. I hope you two are happy together." He smiled lightly. Then he quickly left, his pack following after him. Kagome looked up at her mate now, just as surprised as Kouga at the fact that he hadn't started a fight.

"You really have changed." She said quietly, gaining his attention. He looked down at her and she smiled. "I'm glad. I won't have to worry about you fighting so much anymore."

-Hi! Aozora12 here! this is my very first fanfic ever, even though I do a lot of writing as a hobby. I would really appreciate reviews, and maybe some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh on me. Still new to this ;) Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Inuyasha led Kagome out of the forest, holding her hand gently as they made their way towards the village they hadn't seen in four months. Kagome's blood had finally settled and there was no fear of her attacking anyone. She had finally mastered her new abilities, as well, and Inuyasha had declared that it was time to return home. So now they were heading back into their village to meet their friends once more.

The first person to notice the couple's return was Shippou, who quickly alerted all the villagers. By the time Inuyasha and Kagome reached the village, every villager had gathered together to welcome them and congratulate them. They didn't care that they weren't technically married, but rather mated. They didn't care that Kagome was now a hanyou or that both their appearances had changed dramatically. They still respected and adored the young priestess and the strong hanyou that had defeated Naraku and helped their village countless times. They were proud that Kagome and Inuyasha called their village home.

"Welcome home!" Sango rushed out of the crowd of villagers to embrace Kagome. Kagome returned the hug happily and they stayed that way for several minutes. Then Sango stepped back to look Kagome over. "You've changed so much! You look like Inuyasha!"

"Of course she does." Inuyasha frowned at Sango. "She's got my blood in her now, so of course she looks like me."

"You've changed, too!" Sango gasped in surprise. "You look so… so mature!"

"That comes with finding your mate." Inuyasha merely said before turning to see Kagome about to hug Miroku. He growled in warning to Miroku and pulled her away from him. "Don't take this offensively, but don't touch my mate." He glared at Miroku, who laughed nervously.

"Sorry. I forgot how territorial inu yokai can be, especially when recently mated." Miroku apologized, practically hiding behind his wife from the much stronger and more intimidating Inuyasha.

"Just don't touch Kagome until my instincts settle down. It should only be another month or two." Inuyasha sighed as he wrapped his arms around Kagome's shoulders possessively. "Sorry, Miroku, but right now I'll probably attack any male that gets his scent on my mate." Just as he said this Shippou ran out of the crowd and jumped into Kagome's arms.

"Kagome! I missed you!" Shippou cried as he hugged Kagome. The little kit had grown from a boy that looked like he was only five to a young lad looking like he was almost twelve, but he still clung to Kagome as if she was his mother. Unfortunately for him.

"Brat…" a loud threatening growl escaped Inuyasha's throat as he glared down at the fox kit that was getting his scent all over his mate. Shippou looked up at him in surprise and his eyes quickly filled with fear as he realized what he just did. He quickly jumped back from Kagome as Inuyasha's growl grew louder, frightening all the villagers into retreating to their huts. They feared that he was about to lose control, but they were surprised when he actually managed to keep his sanity.

"That is your only warning, brat…" Inuyasha growled at the kit. "Do not touch my mate again until my blood settles down or I will kill you. I'm trying my hardest not to rip you apart right now." Getting the message, Shippou quickly hid behind Sango with Miroku. Kagome turned to her mate, her ears lowered as she stared at him with concern.

"Inuyasha… please don't be mad." She pleaded quietly as she looked up at him. When he directed his angry glare at her she realized that he was partially upset with her for allowing Shippou to hug her without pushing him away. "I-I'm sorry." She whimpered quietly.

"Kagome…?" Sango stared at her adopted sister in shock. "Why are you apologizing? You would normally yell at him for scaring Shippou."

"Ye forget she is newly mated." Kaede stepped forward now, motioning to the slightly frightened Kagome that was looking up at her mate apologetically with tears in her eyes. "To an inu hanyou, at that. Her new instincts are telling her to submit to her mate while he is still extremely possessive of her. She shall return to normal when his blood settles, but she shall always submit to him when he desires."

Sango, Miroku, and Shippou were too focused on Kaede that they didn't even notice when Inuyasha suddenly leaned down and sank his fangs into Kagome's neck, earning a loud whimper from his mate. At Kagome's whimper, their friends quickly turned to stare at them in surprise and horror, shocked beyond belief that Inuyasha would actually hurt Kagome. Shippou started to cry as he smelled Kagome's blood. He didn't like that Kagome had to be bitten, but he knew why Inuyasha was doing it, unlike the others. So, when they started to run toward them in an attempt to save Kagome, he stopped them.

"Don't! He's not hurting her!" Shippou stopped his friends, who turned to look at him as if he had two heads. "He's not hurting her; she only feels a small pinch. But he's angry that she didn't push me away like she should have. He's only reminding her that he is her alpha." He explained to them, even as he cried about having to smell his adopted mother's blood. "He'll let go of her once she submits." As he said this they watched as Kagome slowly tilted her head to one side to give Inuyasha better access to her neck. She whimpered and let her tears fall, not from pain, but out of apology. She didn't like him being mad with her to the point of biting her; he'd only done it three times in the four months they'd been mated, and he only bit her when he was pissed off because she had defied his dominance.

Inuyasha's anger faded the moment his mate submitted to him by turning her neck to him. To him that was a worthy apology, especially because he could smell her tears. He knew she hated it when he was mad enough to bite her. She didn't hate being bitten, as he bit her often during mating. She hated that he was mad at her, and he knew that was punishment enough for her. So he retracted his fangs and licked the blood away from her neck, watching as the wound healed instantly.

"We will be back in three days." Inuyasha suddenly announced, standing up and picking up his quietly crying mate.

"W-where are you going?" Sango asked, worrying that Kagome had actually been hurt, despite what Shippou said.

"We're going back to the spring so I can scrub the stench of another male off my mate." He growled, glaring at Shippou, who was the cause of all this trouble. After glaring for a moment his eyes softened slightly. "Don't take it personally, Shippou."

"I-I understand." Shippou whimpered as he peeked out from behind Sango. "I'm sorry for touching your mate. Don't punish her too much."

"She's already been punished." Inuyasha told him. "Her worst fear right now, while we are still new mates, is that I will be angry with her. That is why she is crying." Hearing this, Sango visibly relaxed, as did Miroku and Kaede who also thought that Kagome had been in pain. "This is your only warning, Shippou. Miroku, too. Don't touch my mate until my blood settles down, and make sure no other male in the village touches her, either. If I catch another male's scent on her there will be hell to pay." With that said Inuyasha disappeared in a flash with his mate, leaving an afterimage behind to give one last warning glare to the frightened Miroku and Shippou.

-break-

"I'm sorry." Kagome whimpered quietly for the hundredth time that night as Inuyasha growled and scrubbed another area of her body that had Shippou's scent on her. Then he returned to sniffing all over his mate's body for any missed spots. Finally having scrubbed Kagome's entire body until Shippou's scent was gone, Inuyasha let Kagome relax in the hot spring. He was sure she would avoid him, thinking that he was still mad at her, so he got up to leave. He was surprised when Kagome suddenly threw herself into his arms. "Please don't leave. I don't want my mate to leave… please…" she looked up at him with her ears flat against her skull as she begged her mate to stay.

"Alright." Inuyasha smiled lightly. He sat down in the hot spring again and relaxed in the hot water with his mate. He wrapped his arms around Kagome and held her close to his chest. She seemed to be relieved that he wasn't mad at her anymore, and she rested her head on his shoulder to relax with him. "I'm sorry I bit you." Inuyasha apologized quietly after a while, surprising Kagome into looking up at him. "I know you were caught off guard when Shippou hugged you, and I shouldn't have been so angry about the fact that you didn't push him away. But my instincts and emotions are still running wild. Maybe we should have waited another month to go back to the village."

"I… I won't let another male touch me." Kagome promised. "I-I won't even hold Sango and Miroku's baby…"

"No, the baby is fine." Inuyasha smiled lightly at her. "And children up to about age ten are fine, too. But any boy that's even starting puberty, like Shippou, is not fine."

"S-so I can hold baby Yuusuke?" Kagome smiled happily. She hadn't seen the little boy in four months and she really wanted to hold him! She was so happy that she quickly threw her arms around Inuyasha's neck and kissed him. "Thank you." she smiled happily at her mate, who merely grinned and returned the kiss with a much deeper one that made Kagome moan.

"It seems I scrubbed even my scent off of you." Inuyasha smirked before kissing Kagome again. Then he picked her up and carried her out of the hot spring. In a flash they were in their mating den near the hot spring and Inuyasha was leaning over his naked mate on the bed of furs. Kagome blushed lightly but smiled happily through the next kiss as Inuyasha's hands began to roam over her body. "I'll have to fix that."

-Hi! Aozora12 here! this is my very first fanfic ever, even though I do a lot of writing as a hobby. I would really appreciate reviews, and maybe some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh on me. Still new to this ;) Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"Welcome home… again…" Sango smiled as she gave her adopted sister a hug. Kagome returned the embrace with a happy smile. Then she went to Kaede, who gave her a warm hug as well. She smiled apologetically at Miroku and Shippou as she made sure to keep her distance from them. They, too, made sure to stay at least five feet away from Kagome, for fear of her angry mate.

"Is it ready?" Inuyasha asked Miroku as the women began to talk happily about Kagome being mated to Inuyasha. Miroku merely nodded, glancing toward the forest.

"The villagers built it in a large clearing just a little ways into the forest, and I put a charm on the surrounding land to prevent hostile yokai from going near it." He told his hanyou friend. "I must warn you, Inuyasha… the villagers built it much larger than you wanted."

"Why would they do that?" Inuyasha questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't pay them that much, and that means that they had to work more for the same amount of money."

"Yes, but they felt you and Kagome deserved it after all you've done for them." Miroku smiled. "I think you and Kagome will like it. It looks amazing."

"What looks amazing?" Kagome's voice came quietly. She had returned to her mate's side after Kaede was called away to make a medicine for a sick villager. Sango moved to stand by her husband now.

"It's a surprise." Inuyasha smiled warmly at his mate. "I'll show you tonight."

"Until then, why don't you two come to our home?" Sango smiled. "We can catch up there; lots of things have happened since you two left. Besides, I'm sure Kagome wants to see Yuusuke and the girls." At the mere thought of seeing her nieces and nephew, Kagome's eyes lit up. She hadn't seen them in four months! She couldn't wait to see them and see how much they've grown!

"Sure." Inuyasha said, smiling at his mate's excitement. He knew how she adored children and wanted many of her own. She was still upset that she thought she couldn't have any children with Inuyasha, and he was going to enjoy seeing her reaction when he finally got her pregnant and told her. She was going to be so happy.

-break-

"Has Rin sent any letters recently?" Kagome asked Sango quietly as she held her nephew, Yuusuke, who was now over a year old. He was babbling happily and playing with the two silver strands of Kagome's hair as she held him and played with him.

"We got one last month, actually." Sango smiled. "She said that she will be returning to the village at the start of the summer for about a month before Sesshoumaru takes her with him again."

"The beginning of summer is only a few weeks away." Kagome smiled happily. "I can't wait to see her. Sesshoumaru needs to stop hogging her to himself."

"He's actually trying to find a suitor for her. Would you believe that?" Sango laughed. "I mean; it's clear to everyone that Rin loves him, and he obviously isn't happy about marrying her off to another man. Rin told me in her letter that, after the fourth suitor or so, he stopped trying to find one for her. Even though he says he's looking for one worthy of her, she hasn't seen any suitors since then and he's clearly not looking. Then he's even told her a few times that maybe she should wait until she turns eighteen to find a suitor. That's still two years away." Sango laughed with Kagome. "I think he needs to stop being so prideful and just admit that he's fallen for a human."

"I wonder if Rin might actually be Sesshoumaru's life mate." Kagome smiled lightly. Then she turned to the baby boy in her arms, who was yawning and babbling much quieter now. "I think Yuusuke is sleepy."

"I'll put him to bed." Sango smiled, taking her son and rocking him in her arms as she left to put him to sleep with his sisters. When she returned she brought Kagome a bowl of stew. "The men are still talking about that exorcism they're going to do tomorrow." She sighed as she handed Kagome the bowl. "Inuyasha told me to make sure you ate plenty tonight. No… told isn't the right word. It's more like he threatened me."

"Sorry." Kagome apologized quietly, lowering her ears. "He doesn't mean to be mean."

"I know." Sango smiled sweetly at her sister. "He's newly-mated and very possessive and protective of his mate. He'll calm down soon, I'm sure." She assured Kagome. Kagome smiled back and then started to eat her stew, thankful that Inuyasha had told Sango to bring her something to eat. He probably heard her stomach rumbling even from the other room.

Kagome quickly ate the stew she'd been given and asked Sango politely for more. Sango brought Kagome three more bowls of stew that night. Both Miroku and Sango were surprised at how many times Sango returned to the main room of their hut to refill Kagome's bowl of stew. Inuyasha merely smirked. She'd gotten his appetite.

After filling herself with her fourth bowl of stew Kagome smiled happily. "Thank you, Sango. Sorry I ate so much."

"Don't worry." Sango smiled lightly. "But really, Kagome, you seem to have gotten Inuyasha's appetite. You've really changed so much…"

"Do you still like me, Sango?" Kagome asked quietly, lowering her ears in worry. Sango stared at her in surprise and then smiled sweetly at her adopted little sister.

"Of course I still like you, Kagome." She assured the younger woman, knowing what was going through her mind right now. "You may be a hanyou now, Kagome, but nobody in this village will care about that. To everyone here, you are still the same beloved Kagome that left with Inuyasha four months ago. You just look a little different than usual, but our village embraces those differences with open arms."

"She's right." Miroku's voice came from the door to the room. The women looked up to see Miroku and Inuyasha standing there, smiling at their mates. "This village has learned to accept yokai, human, and hanyou alike. Nobody here will think any differently of you just because you decided to stay with the man you love for the rest of your life by becoming his hanyou mate. Everyone in the village will still adore you, Kagome." Miroku smiled lightly at his friend. Kagome found herself smiling back in relief. Now Inuyasha spoke.

"It's time to go, Kagome. I have to show you that surprise." He smiled gently at his mate. Kagome nodded and stood up, giving Sango one last hug before hurrying over to her mate. Inuyasha turned to Miroku and Sango now. "Thanks for letting us come over. We'll see you tomorrow." He smiled. Then he took Kagome's hand and led her away. They headed out of the village and towards the forest, towards the very special surprise that Inuyasha had planned for Kagome.

-break-

Kagome stared wide-eyed at the surprise in front of her. It was a small palace in the middle of a huge clearing in the forest, about a ten minute walk away from the village. This was Inuyasha's surprise. He had asked the villagers to build them a home, and they had built them a small mansion. How they had managed such a feat in only four months, even Inuyasha would never know. But they did it, and now he and Kagome would be living in a home that looked like it belonged to a nobleman.

"Inuyasha… is this really our home?" Kagome asked her mate quietly. Inuyasha smiled down at her and nodded, and her eyes filled with happy tears. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. "This is amazing! Thank you!" Inuyasha laughed lightly and returned her embrace, moving to gently nuzzle her neck.

"We're mates now so you have to live with me, but I knew you wouldn't like sleeping outdoors constantly, exposed to the elements." He told her. "And we can't constantly live in our den; it's too far away from the village. That's why I asked the villagers to build us a home, although I was expecting something much smaller." He smiled lightly, looking at the palace before him now. "Let's go check it out, shall we?" With that said he scooped Kagome up into his arms and carried her bridal style into the palace.

They explored the small palace with smiles on their faces. There were many bedrooms that could be used for their children or their guests. A master bedroom had a very large and comfortable bed with pillows stuffed with down feathers. They found a bathing room and a fully-stocked kitchen. There was a courtyard in the center of the palace with a koi pond. It was a wonderful palace and Kagome couldn't stop smiling as she followed Inuyasha around it.

It was late into the night when they finally decided to go to sleep in their new home. For once Inuyasha decided to let Kagome actually sleep. She deserved a full night's sleep every now and then, even though she seemed slightly disappointed that they wouldn't be doing anything tonight. But still, she was thankful for the chance to rest. They went to the master bedroom and she snuggled close to Inuyasha on the bed.

"This is the best surprise I've ever gotten. Thank you, Inuyasha." Kagome smiled sleepily at her mate as she began to feel drowsy.

"You'll have to thank the villagers, too. They built it even though I only paid them enough to build a simple hut."

"I'll thank them, too. But you're the one that asked them to build it. How did you get the money?" Kagome asked sleepily.

"I saved up from all those exorcisms I did with Miroku. It took me about half a year to save up enough to have them build a hut about the same size as Miroku and Sango's." he told her. "I don't know why they built it this big, and I can't imagine how they even built this in four months."

"It was really nice of them." Kagome smiled into her mate's chest. They stayed in comfortable silence for a while before she spoke again. "We're mated and we have a home. Now all we need is kids… should we adopt, Inuyasha? Or would you be against it?" she looked up at him and waited for his answer. He merely smiled and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips.

"I wouldn't mind, but let's wait until we're settled into our new home, okay?" he smiled lightly. Kagome slowly nodded and then went to sleep. Inuyasha stared down at her with a gentle smile. She had no idea that she could actually bear Inuyasha's children. In a few months, however, she would find that out.

-Hi! Aozora12 here! this is my very first fanfic ever, even though I do a lot of writing as a hobby. I would really appreciate reviews, and maybe some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh on me. Still new to this ;) Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

A young woman around the age of sixteen smiled happily as she picked flowers in a field, waiting for her traveling companions to return. One had gone off to take care of important business that she could not know about. The other had taken their steed to go to a nearby village and restock on supplies. The young woman was left alone to enjoy the field of late spring flowers.

The young woman gathered enough flowers to braid into a necklace. Then she sat in the shade of a tree and got to work, humming happily. Braiding flowers was a hobby she had enjoyed since childhood, though she rarely got the opportunity to do it now that she was a young woman waiting for a suitor to come and marry her. Or so that was the excuse her guardian gave her to keep her from doing such childish things. He did, however, enjoy her childish nature when they traveled, so he would allow her to braid flowers while he took care of business.

A breeze blew the young woman's chocolate brown hair in her beautiful face. She was slightly startled when a gentle hand that was not hers pushed her hair away from her face and then tied it behind her head with a white ribbon. She looked up at the man that had appeared out of nowhere with her large hazel eyes. Her full lips turned into a happy smile as she stared at the tall inu taiyokai with golden eyes, a constant stoic expression, and long silver hair. He wore an elegant white kimono with red and gold honeycomb accents. Armor could be seen over his kimono, along with a white fluffy mokomoko over his shoulder and two swords strapped to his hip.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, you've returned." The young woman smiled happily, hurrying to her feet to greet her guardian. She desperately wanted to hug him as she had done when she was a child, but she settled for a small bow.

"Rin." Sesshoumaru greeted in return, keeping his voice even and his face expressionless. Then he turned and began walking. "We are leaving now." he told her.

"What about Jaken-sama?" The young woman, Rin, asked as she followed her guardian, leaving the flowers behind in favor of being near her beloved taiyokai.

"He will have to catch up." Sesshoumaru responded. Then they continued walking through the forest in silence, Rin following a few paces behind her guardian. Suddenly Sesshoumaru stopped in his tracks, making Rin run into his back.

"I-I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama. I didn't stop soon enough." Rin apologized for running into him as he turned around to face her. For once his stoic expression faded a little as he raised an eyebrow in question.

"Are you bleeding, Rin?" he asked the young woman, who blushed violently at his question. He had stopped because he smelled her beginning to bleed suddenly. Rin checked her mental calendar and realized that her time of the month was this week, although she was a day early.

"I-I believe so, my lord." Rin answered quietly as her face became red enough to put a tomato to shame. "I-I forgot that it was this week…"

"Tell me if you begin to feel pain." Sesshoumaru said simply as he turned around and began walking again. "We shall arrive at Inuyasha's village within two hours. You should not bleed too much before then." He told her. Rin slowly nodded and began to follow him again, still blushing with embarrassment about being discovered like that. It was times like this that she really hated her guardian's sense of smell.

-break-

"Look, Sesshoumaru and Rin are back!" Sango pointed in the distance. Kagome looked up from playing with Yuusuke and smiled happily as she saw the traveling pair. She was so happy that Rin was finally back. She hadn't seen the girl since last summer.

Sango took Yuusuke inside her hut so Miroku would watch him. Then she and Kagome hurried to meet Rin. Kagome stopped at the edge of the village and turned to the tree where Inuyasha was sitting, watching his brother from a distance. She looked up at him, silently asking his permission to go near his brother to see Rin. When he smiled lightly and nodded she smiled her thanks at him and then hurried after Sango.

"It's been so long, Rin! Oh, you've gotten so much taller now!" Sango was already hugging Rin when Kagome started to approach. Rin glanced up from Sango and gasped in surprise.

"Kagome-chan?" Rin questioned, stepping back from Sango. She stared at her now-hanyou friend for a long time. Kagome stood still, letting Rin take everything in. She noticed Sesshoumaru glance curiously at her as well. "You're a hanyou… but how?"

"I-I mated with Inuyasha." Kagome answered quietly, blushing at how strangely that sounded. "He gave me his yoki and turned me into a hanyou."

"He can do that?" Rin questioned, coming closer. Kagome nodded, and then she caught Rin's scent… and the scent of her blood. Human blood… delicious-smelling human blood. She took a step back, surprising both Rin and Sango, as she felt her new yokai-self filling her head with thoughts of murder and destruction. Her golden eyes flashed red for an instant, startling Sesshoumaru the most, as she fought to keep control. His hand went to his sword as he realized that Kagome was still unable to control her beast. He might have to subdue her if she loses control.

Before Sesshoumaru got that chance Inuyasha arrived. He had seen Kagome take a step back from Rin, and then he noticed Sesshoumaru's hand go down to his sword. When the scent of Rin's blood reached his nose he realized what was going on. He ran to his mate's side instantly, surprising Rin and his brother with his new appearance.

Inuyasha didn't waste time trying to calm Kagome with words. He quickly pulled her to him and bit her neck, hard. Kagome whimpered loudly in pain as Inuyasha forced her beast to submit. Her yokai blood retreated and she regained control. Inuyasha released her as she turned her neck to him, showing him that she'd calmed down. Then she collapsed against him, starting to cry. She'd been so terrified! She'd never lost control like that before…

"K-Kagome-chan…? Inuyasha-sama…?" Rin's voice came. Inuyasha looked up to see the young woman staring at them with concern. Sango, too, looked extremely worried, and Sesshoumaru even seemed to be relieved.

"She's okay." Inuyasha assured the worried women. "The scent of Rin's blood made her nearly lose control. She's never done that before so it scared her."

"Should I take her back to the village?" Sango asked now. Inuyasha nodded and Sango gently pried Kagome from her mate. Kagome turned to Sango and cried into her shoulder as Sango managed to lead her back to the village. Inuyasha watched them go before sighing and turning to Rin and his brother.

"It's not your fault, Rin." He assured the young woman, who had a guilty expression on her face. Then he turned to Sesshoumaru, who was staring intently at his brother.

"You've… matured." Sesshoumaru said. Indeed, his hanyou half-brother had matured both physically and mentally since he last saw him. Now he looked and acted very much like an adult, and he resembled their father even more than before, especially with his hair pulled back.

"I have." Inuyasha grinned. "And I would really like to spar with you to test out how much stronger I've gotten since taking a mate."

"Why me?" Sesshoumaru frowned.

"Because I know I won't kill you within five seconds." Inuyasha told him. Though he didn't show it on his face, inwardly Sesshoumaru was amazed that Inuyasha hadn't simply started a fight with him already. He wanted to spar, did he not? For once it was Sesshoumaru that actually wanted to start the fight… although he wouldn't do such a thing without a proper reason.

"Very well. But not now and not here." Sesshoumaru told him. "I have only come here to drop Rin off, and I have important matters to attend to at home." He turned to Rin now. "Rin, behave and do not get into danger. I shall return for you at the end of summer." With that said he turned and left, half expecting Inuyasha to stop him and call him out to fight. He was somewhat disappointed when that didn't happen. Where did that child of a brother go? Since when was he actually mature like an adult?!

-break-

Kagome stayed close to Inuyasha as they approached Rin. She clung tightly to his arm as the scent of Rin's blood reached her nose. She was afraid she would lose control again, even though Inuyasha had assured her that he had forced her inner beast into submission for a while.

Finally realizing that she wasn't going to lose control, Kagome sighed in relief and then ran to hug Rin. Rin also seemed relieved that Kagome was better. She smiled and hugged the older woman happily. "I missed you, Kagome-chan." Rin smiled as she hugged her friend. Then she stepped back and looked her over again. "You've changed so much. I can't believe you're actually a hanyou now…"

"You've changed, too." Kagome smiled at her adopted little sister. "You're taller now… and you've actually got curves now."

"Your hair is so pretty with the silver in it." Rin smiled.

"Your hair has gotten so long and it's so silky…" Kagome smiled back. They continued talking about each other's looks for a while and Inuyasha tuned them out, turning to Kaede, who was letting Rin live in her hut for the summer.

"I need you to make something for me, granny." Inuyasha told her as he handed the older woman a slip of paper with a list of ingredients for a certain medicine on it. Kaede looked over the list and realized that it was a pregnancy vitamin that he wanted her to make.

"Has it happened yet, Inuyasha?" she asked him quietly.

"Not yet, but very soon." He smiled lightly. "I just want to be prepared."

"I see." Kaede smiled. "I, however, do not have the necessary ingredients for this. You should see Jinenji."

"Would you watch Kagome for me, then?" he asked her. "If I take her it will take me three days, but I can go there and be back in only a day if I go alone."

"I believe she should stay with Sango and Miroku." Kaede told him as she handed back the list. "She might lose control if she constantly smells Rin's blood."

"Then I'll ask them and I'll leave tomorrow." He told her. He put the list of ingredients back into his haori and then returned to Kagome's side. Rin smiled at him now.

"You've changed a lot too, Inuyasha-sama. You don't look like a teen anymore."

"How old do I look, then?" Inuyasha smiled at the girl.

"You look like you're about twenty-five. It's so strange seeing you like this." Rin giggled. "Is this what happens when you take a mate?"

"That's right." Inuyasha smiled. "The female takes on the male's features while the male becomes wiser and stronger to protect his mate."

"I wonder how Sesshoumaru-sama would change when he finds his mate." Rin said now. "He's already incredibly strong, after all."

"I'm a little scared to think that Sesshoumaru could get any stronger." Kagome said quietly. "He's already scary enough…"

"You think Sesshoumaru-sama is scary?" Rin questioned, surprised. Normally her friend wasn't afraid of anything, with the exception of snakes and spiders.

"She thinks that because Sesshoumaru is my rival. She's my mate now, so her instincts are telling her to be afraid of my rivals." Inuyasha explained to the girl. "The same thing happened when Kouga came across us after we mated."

"You were scared of Kouga-sama?!" Rin exclaimed at Kagome. "Even though you had a crush on him?!"

"Crush?" Inuyasha frowned now, turning to his mate who was already starting to panic. "You had a crush on him?"

"J-just for a short time while we were fighting Naraku…" Kagome admitted quietly, praying that Inuyasha wouldn't get mad. "Y-you were being really mean to me at the time so I thought Kouga-kun might be better than you… b-but I don't think that anymore!" She tried to assure him, but failed miserably. Inuyasha's anger was rising as he thought about Kagome actually liking Kouga more than him, even for a little while. Kagome didn't know what to do to calm him down, and she didn't expect it when his beast came out.

"Granny." Inuyasha suddenly turned to Kaede, even as his eyes began to bleed red and his fangs elongated. He surprisingly kept in control as he turned to the old woman and handed her the list. "Have a villager take that to Jinenji, and tell him to hurry. I'm going to need it real soon." He told Kaede, his voice much rougher than before. Then he suddenly turned back to Kagome and hoisted her over his shoulder.

"W-where are you taking her?" Rin whimpered in fear as she saw the purple marks on his face beginning to appear.

"I'm going to punish my mate for thinking that another male is better than me." Inuyasha responded roughly, making Rin worry. Kagome, although slightly startled by Inuyasha's beast coming out, managed to smile lightly at Rin.

"He won't hurt me, so don't worry. But we might not be back for a few days." She told the younger woman quietly as Inuyasha carried her out of Kaede's hut.

"Why aren't you getting upset?" Rin asked. "You didn't do anything wrong…"

"She's challenged Inuyasha's dominance by thinking favorably toward another male." Kaede told Rin. "They both know that doing such a thing is the same as verbally insulting Inuyasha. Besides, even though it may be a punishment, Kagome is going to have fun very soon." Kaede smiled teasingly at Kagome, who blushed deeply as Inuyasha continued to carry her away from the hut. Rin also blushed, realizing how Inuyasha was going to punish her adopted big sister. Inuyasha merely ignored them, still somehow in control of his emerged beast as he took his mate to the edge of the village and, with a flash of speed, disappeared with her.

-Hi! Aozora12 here! this is my very first fanfic ever, even though I do a lot of writing as a hobby. I would really appreciate reviews, and maybe some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh on me. Still new to this ;) Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Rin stared toward the forest where she last saw Inuyasha and Kagome. It had been three days since Inuyasha took her away. They hadn't gone to their palace, so Sango told her that they might've gone to their mating den. It made sense; Inuyasha had been his beast at the time, and his beast probably wanted to mate with Kagome in their den instead of a human home. But still… they had been away for three days now. Rin was getting worried, and she felt guilty for mentioning Kagome's crush on Kouga.

"Don't worry, Rin. Inuyasha would never hurt her." Sango smiled lightly at Rin as they sat in the grass by Sango and Miroku's hut. The twins, Mio and Mia, were following their father around, suddenly interested in being priestesses, and Sango and Rin were watching Yuusuke and playing with him in the soft grass. "Even his beast recognizes her as its mate now. He won't hurt her."

"But he looked so angry." Rin sighed.

"He probably was. But he still would never hurt Kagome. His 'punishment' for her was probably keeping her awake all night." Sango told her, watching as Rin blushed lightly. She was still so innocent, and Sango enjoyed teasing her about it.

"I bet Kagome-chan will end up with child if he punishes her like that." Rin said quietly, blushing even as she said it. Sango merely frowned.

"That's… impossible for them." She said somewhat sadly. "Hanyou can't have children except for when they're human. Inuyasha and Kagome won't ever have any children." Rin felt her heart break for Kagome as she heard this. She knew how Kagome adored children and wanted desperately to be a mother, and she knew that her dreams of being a mother were crushed now. Not only was Inuyasha a hanyou… but now she was, too.

"Excuse me." A villager suddenly stopped in front of them, a bag in his hand. "Do you know if Kaede-sama is in her hut or elsewhere?" he asked them. "I have an item from Jinenji-san to give to her."

"She is visiting an ill child in that hut. I suggest you wait until she comes out." Sango told the man. "What is it that Jinenji has sent her?"

"Ah, it is a secret medicine that Inuyasha-san requested." The man told them. "Even I am not so sure what it is."

"Ah, that's what was on the paper that Inuyasha-sama gave to Kaede before he took Kagome-chan away." Rin gasped. "I wonder what it is. He seemed like he was going to need it in a hurry."

"Interesting." Sango said. The villager merely shrugged.

"I must take this to Kaede-sama. Thank you for your help." He told them, offering a slight bow before hurrying away. Sango and Rin stared at each other with equal curiosity.

"I wonder what Inuyasha needs medicine for. He's a hanyou, so he doesn't get sick. The same goes for Kagome." Sango told Rin, who shrugged her shoulders.

"I suppose we'll have to ask him when he returns."

-break-

Kagome mumbled quietly in her sleep as she turned to snuggle closer to her mate's chest. Inuyasha chuckled lightly as he watched his mate sleep in his arms. She would not wake up for another hour or two, but they had to return to the village soon. So he was letting her sleep as he carried her through the forest, heading back toward the village. His haori was wrapped around her to keep her warm; he didn't want to take any chances with her health, not now.

"Inu…" Kagome mumbled as she inhaled his scent in her sleep. She smiled in her sleep as her mate's scent comforted her and gave her pleasant dreams. Inuyasha smiled and carried Kagome through the trees until they finally reached the village. As they came closer to the village they were noticed by Sango and Rin, who had been sitting in the grass outside Miroku's hut with Yuusuke. The two women quickly gathered up the baby and hurried to greet their friends as they reached the edge of the village.

"Oh, Kagome looks exhausted…" Sango frowned sympathetically at her friend. "Has she not slept in three days? How could you do that to her, Inuyasha?"

"I didn't." he frowned. "It was only the first night. She's been tired ever since."

"Why is she so tired?" Rin asked.

"I don't know." Inuyasha lied. He actually knew the reason for it, but he wasn't ready to tell anyone yet, especially while Kagome was still sleeping. He wanted her to at least be awake when even she found out. "Is Kaede around?" he asked them now.

"She's at her hut. One of the villagers returned from Jinenji's farm today with whatever it is that you requested him to make." Sango told him.

"What is it, Inuyasha-sama? We're curious." Rin said now. Inuyasha merely grinned.

"It's a secret. You'll find out soon enough." He laughed lightly as he started to carry Kagome toward Kaede's hut, leaving the two girls to wonder. He took Kagome to Kaede's hut and smiled when he saw her sorting through her medicines. "Granny, do you have what I asked for?" he asked.

"Aye." She answered without looking up. "I received it this morning. Jinenji made more than enough, and he sent a note along with it." She found the jar of handmade pills with a note attached to it and handed it to Inuyasha. "He says one a day, only. No more or it could hurt her." she told him, stopping to look at the sleeping Kagome. She smiled lightly. "Worn out, eh? Did it finally happen?"

"Yeah." Inuyasha smiled proudly. "It's finally happened." Kaede smiled gently at the sleeping Kagome.

"She will be overjoyed." She smiled. Then she turned to Inuyasha with a stern look. "Now, you listen, Inuyasha. You had better take extremely good care of her. I will be very upset if I am called to your home to tend to an ill Kagome." She warned him. Inuyasha merely smiled.

"I assure you; I will do everything in my power to keep her healthy." He promised. "I don't want her to get sick, either. That's why I asked for the vitamins." Kaede stared at him for a moment before smiling lightly again.

"Ye truly have matured, Inuyasha." She smiled warmly at the hanyou. "You shall make a fine father."

-Hi! Aozora12 here! this is my very first fanfic ever, even though I do a lot of writing as a hobby. I would really appreciate reviews, and maybe some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh on me. Still new to this ;) Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"Inuyasha…" Kagome called for her mate from the bathing room. He stuck his head into the room and stared at his mate as she tried to scrub her body clean in the large bath. "I can't get this weird smell off… will you help me?" Kagome asked him. He merely smiled and walked into the bathing room.

"What's it smell like?" he asked as he approached his mate.

"I can't describe it… it's sweet but spicy…" Kagome said quietly as she sniffed her arm to try and identify the scent. "And it's all over me." Inuyasha stepped closer to her and inhaled deeply, grinning as he recognized the scent.

"Ah, that… that's just your scent, Kagome." He told her, partially lying.

"But my scent smells like lilacs…" Kagome frowned. "Did it change for some reason?"

"You could say that." He grinned as he pulled her out of the bath and into his arms. He moved his nose down to her neck and took a deep breath. "It's a wonderful scent, Kagome. I like it, so don't try to scrub it off." He kissed her mating mark affectionately as he drowned himself in her intoxicating scent. Kagome blushed lightly and turned her neck toward her mate to give him better access. He rewarded her with a gentle bite and a seductive growl that quickly aroused her. Inuyasha chuckled lightly now and stood up, hooking a clawed finger under his mate's chin to bring her face to his with a gentle kiss. "I think I'll join you in the bath…"

Inuyasha smiled as he carried his exhausted mate to their room. She was falling asleep in his arms, too exhausted to even get dressed after their passionate bath together. She was already tired all the time for some unknown reason, although Inuyasha secretly knew that reason. Now Kagome could barely even keep her eyes open long enough for Inuyasha to carry her to their room and put her down on the comfortable futon they shared.

Finally lying on the futon, Kagome thought she was going to get some rest. She started to close her eyes but Inuyasha gently shook her awake. "I need you to take something real quick. Then you can sleep." He told her, showing her a small blue pill.

"What is it?" Kagome asked with a yawn.

"A vitamin." He answered. "I don't want you to catch anything. You may be a hanyou, but your immune system is weaker because you only turned recently." This was a flat-out lie, but he couldn't tell her the truth yet. He was waiting for the perfect moment to tell her.

"Okay." Kagome smiled lightly. "Thank you." Inuyasha returned her smiled and gave her the pill, waiting until she swallowed it to give her a gentle kiss. Then he stood and turned to leave. Her voice stopped him at the door. "Inuyasha…" she said quietly. He turned to look at her and she smiled sleepily. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Inuyasha smiled tenderly at his mate. Then he turned and left, letting Kagome get some much-needed rest.

-break-

Kagome hummed happily as she gathered some wild herbs growing near the edge of the forest. She dared not venture more than ten feet into the forest without her mate, knowing he would get angry for her leaving his sight. Inuyasha sat high up in a tree near the center of the village, watching all that happened below as the village protector. Since the defeat of Naraku, Inuyasha had decided to be the village guardian, keeping bandits and wild yokai away from his home. The tree he sat in now had the best view of the village and surrounding area, all the way to the edge of the forest surrounding the village.

Inuyasha glanced in his mate's direction again, making sure she didn't travel too far into the forest as she gathered herbs. Truthfully, he didn't want her anywhere near the forest. Her new scent would surely attract hungry yokai and she could be attacked. Even though she was a hanyou, that didn't mean that she was immortal. She could still die… and the baby could die with her. Luckily her scent of pregnancy wasn't very strong yet, as she was only two weeks pregnant. But still…, Inuyasha couldn't help but worry.

"Oi! Inuyasha!" a voice called from below. Inuyasha looked down and found Shippou scurrying up the tree. He sat on a branch beside Inuyasha. "What're you doing?"

"Watching the village." Inuyasha responded, glancing at his mate once more before turning his attention to Shippou. "When did you and Miroku get back?"

"This morning. That nobleman sure lived far away… but he sure was rich. Miroku and I had trouble taking all our loot back to the village." Shippou laughed, earning a laugh from Inuyasha as well. Then his sharp ears detected something strange near his mate. He quickly turned to find her, frowning when he saw that she was doubled over and emptying the contents of her stomach onto the ground. "What's wrong with Kagome?!" Shippou exclaimed, seeing Kagome getting sick as well. Inuyasha frowned and quickly jumped down from the tree, ignoring Shippou in favor of rushing to his sick mate's side.

Kagome whimpered as she sank to her knees, holding her stomach. She had simply vomited out of nowhere… and now she knew she was going to vomit even more. As Inuyasha finally reached her side she leaned over and threw up again. Inuyasha quickly pulled her hair back from her face. He knelt beside her and gently rubbed her back as she continued to puke on the ground. When she finally stopped vomiting she burst into tears. She hated being sick enough to vomit!

"Inuyasha, why am I sick?" Kagome cried as her mate took his haori sleeve and wiped her face clean with it. Then he simply discarded his favored haori, caring more about Kagome's wellbeing at the moment than the red jacket his mother had made him. He pulled Kagome into his arms and held her close as she cried about being sick.

"It's okay, Kagome. You're not sick." He told her.

"Then why did I puke?!" Kagome cried. "You don't puke for no reason!"

"It's just… morning sickness." He finally decided to tell her about her pregnancy. "It's a normal symptom of pregnancy." Kagome looked up at him in surprise as she took in his words. He smiled gently at her as her eyes filled with even more tears.

"I'm… pregnant…?" she sniffed as she stared up at her mate. He nodded. "B-but I thought… y-you said… hanyou can't have children…"

"They can't… unless it's with their life mate." He told her. "We are life mates, Kagome… so we can have as many children together as we want."

"T-then I'm really… pregnant…?" Kagome started crying loudly again. She threw herself into her mate's arms and hugged him tightly. Her upset tears were now tears of joy. She was pregnant! She was going to be a mother! She was so happy!

"Kagome!" a worried voice came now. Inuyasha and Kagome looked up to find Shippou hurrying towards them with Sango, Miroku, Rin, and Kaede following closely. Shippou ran to Kagome, clearly distraught by his adopted mother's tears, as if her being sick wasn't enough to upset him. "Are you sick?" Shippou asked worriedly. Rin approached now, staring at her sister with concern.

"Shippou told us you were sick. Are you okay, Kagome?" she asked. Kagome sat back from Inuyasha and smiled through her tears.

"I'm… more than okay." She smiled even as she continued to cry. "I'm… I'm pregnant." Sango, Miroku, and Rin gasped in surprise at this, while Kaede smiled knowingly and Shippou moved closer to sniff his adopted mother. When he caught the scent of her pregnancy he smiled happily.

"She really is pregnant! I'm going to be a big brother!" he cheered.

"But… how?" Miroku questioned. "Hanyou are infertile…"

"Even hanyou may have children if it is with their life mate." Kaede said now, surprising everyone.

"You knew this and you didn't tell us?" Sango frowned.

"Inuyasha requested I keep that information to myself." Kaede chuckled. Now all eyes turned to Inuyasha, who was merely grinning smugly.

"Surprise."

-break-

"How long have you known?" Kagome asked her mate quietly as they lay in bed that night, resting after "celebrating" about her pregnancy. She snuggled close to his broad chest and smiled as he wrapped his strong arms around her, pulling her even closer to him.

"I've known since the moment he was conceived that night in our den." Inuyasha whispered in her ear.

"He?" Kagome questioned quietly, looking up at Inuyasha. He smiled gently and gave her a sweet kiss.

"From the scent I can tell that it's a boy. We're having a son, Kagome." He told her. Kagome smiled happily and hugged her mate, burying her face in his chest as she started to cry with joy again. She still couldn't believe it. She had thought they would never have children; that it was impossible… And yet she was pregnant…

"I'm so happy…" she cried quietly. "I've always, always wanted to be a mother…"

"I know." Inuyasha smiled lightly. "I know how upset you were when you found out that hanyou were infertile. I'm sorry I didn't tell you that life mates could have children… but I really wanted to surprise you."

"Thank you…" Kagome smiled happily at her mate. "This is the best surprise I've ever gotten."

-Hi! Aozora12 here! this is my very first fanfic ever, even though I do a lot of writing as a hobby. I would really appreciate reviews, and maybe some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh on me. Still new to this ;) Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

"Inuyasha." An angry female voice got Inuyasha's attention. He looked down from his place in his favorite tree and saw Sango glaring up at him, her arms crossed over her chest. Kagome stood a few paces behind Sango, trying to calm her adopted sister down from a distance while, at the same time, giving Inuyasha an apologizing stare. He jumped down from the tree and Sango punched him in the shoulder immediately.

"What was that for?" Inuyasha frowned, not even blinking about the punch. Sango was about to tell him when an angry growl escaped Kagome's throat. Sango turned to look at Kagome, whose eyes were narrowed toward her sister while she growled. "Kagome." Inuyasha barked loudly at his mate, knowing that her hormones were making her act strangely. At the sound of her mate's loud bark, however, Kagome returned to normal, lowering her ears in a form of apology.

"I'm sorry, Kagome." Sango apologized to her sister, realizing what was going on. "I didn't mean to offend you by hurting your mate."

"I-I didn't mean to growl…" Kagome whimpered quietly, her ears flat against her skull in shame. Inuyasha could smell her tears beginning to form. He sighed heavily and reached past Sango to pull his mate into his arms.

"Sheesh, you're so hormonal lately…" he sighed as he tried to comfort Kagome with a gentle hug. "It's okay, Kagome. Nobody's mad at you, so please don't cry." Kagome slowly nodded as she buried her face in her mate's chest, trying to dry her tears before they fell. He gently kissed the top of her head and then turned back to Sango. "Are you going to tell me why you hit me?"

"Miroku's seen you guys being all lovey-dovey ever since we found out that Kagome was pregnant… and now he's determined to get me pregnant again." Sango frowned at him. "I've already got three kids, Inuyasha. I really don't want another one for a few more years…"

"And you're blaming me for that?" Inuyasha laughed.

"Because it's your fault!" she fumed.

"How is it my fault that Miroku wants to love his wife and have another child with her?" Inuyasha pointed out. "Look, if you don't want another child yet just tell him. I'm sure he'll understand… although it might be too late now."

"What do you mean?" Sango frowned at him. Kagome suddenly looked up from Inuyasha now.

"You smell like I do." Kagome said quietly before looking to her mate. "Is she…?"

"Am I what?!" Sango demanded, scaring the emotionally unbalanced Kagome into hiding behind her mate. Inuyasha merely chuckled, slightly amused by his mate's uncontrollable hormones.

"Let's let her figure that out herself." Inuyasha said to Kagome, who slowly nodded as she hid behind him. He turned to Sango now, a sly grin on his face. "See ya."

"Wait! Tell me what she was going to say!" Sango complained as Inuyasha laughed and took Kagome's hand, leading her away. "Inuyasha!"

-break-

"I'm going to miss you, Rin. Be careful." Kagome smiled lightly at her adopted little sister. Rin smiled back and hugged Kagome.

"I will. Promise to send letters, especially when the baby is born." Rin smiled.

"I will." Kagome promised, starting to cry. Rin turned to walk to Sesshoumaru but Kagome stopped her, throwing her arms around the younger woman. "Don't go! I'll miss you too much!" Kagome sobbed loudly.

"K-Kagome-chan… your hormones are really out of control…" Rin laughed nervously as Sango pried Kagome away from her.

"Kagome, she'll be back next summer." Sango tried to comfort Kagome as she started to cry loudly. Sesshoumaru watched the scene unfold from a distance, keeping his stoic face while, inwardly, he was amused by his brother's mate's behavior. He wondered if Rin would behave that way if she ever became pregnant in the future, but he quickly dismissed the idea. The mere thought of seeing Rin with another man, let alone a human, made him angry… but he was too prideful to admit that he had feelings for the girl. The mere thought of her being pregnant raised conflicted emotions in him, and he didn't know whether he should be angry about another man getting her pregnant or excited about the father possibly being him. So he chose to simply not think about such matters at the moment, choosing, instead, to look over his still-crying sister-in-law.

Kagome was only three months pregnant but she was already showing as if she was five months pregnant. As she was carrying a hanyou's child, her pregnancy would be much shorter than a human's would be. However, its shortness did not mean fewer hormones. If anything, it meant more.

"Three more months…" Inuyasha groaned as he stood beside his brother. They had gradually grown to only slightly-hate each other, and they had a new sense of respect for the other. Especially now that Inuyasha was more mature, his relationship with Sesshoumaru was more along the lines of acquaintances instead of rivals. "Make it end soon…" Inuyasha sighed heavily as he stared up at the sky, begging whatever kami was listening to answer him.

"Tired, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru questioned, inwardly laughing at his younger brother.

"Exhausted." Inuyasha moaned. "She's only been this hormonal for a month and I'm already praying for it to be over. Constantly crying and then shouting and then crying some more…"

"You are the one to blame for getting her pregnant." Sesshoumaru told him.

"I'm still happy about it; don't get me wrong." Inuyasha frowned now. "I just wish it didn't come with the hormones or the morning sickness. You'll understand when you have to deal with Rin in that state."

"Rin will marry a human." Sesshoumaru frowned at Inuyasha, who merely grinned.

"Sure. Whatever you say."

-Hi! Aozora12 here! this is my very first fanfic ever, even though I do a lot of writing as a hobby. I would really appreciate reviews, and maybe some constructive criticism, but don't be too harsh on me. Still new to this ;) Anyways, thanks for reading and enjoy!


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

"Oh, this one is so cute!" Sango smiled as she held up the tiny kimono that Kagome had made for the upcoming baby. It was a dark navy blue kimono with dark green grass blades around the hem and the edge of the sleeves. Amongst the navy color were several small yellow dots, appearing as fireflies dancing in the night.

"Look at this one, too!" Kagome held up a bright red outfit looking very similar to Inuyasha's red fire-rat outfit. "They can match! It'll be so cute!" She squealed happily.

"Oh, I should've done that with Miroku!" Sango pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "It would've been so adorable... Maybe, if this one's a boy, I'll make a little monk's outfit so they can match." She stared down at her still-flat stomach with a gentle smile now. She had discovered that she was pregnant only a week after she yelled at Inuyasha. At first she had been upset, because she had wanted to wait a few years before having another child. However, once she accepted it, she quickly became excited and couldn't wait for the baby to be born. Now she was in her third month, and Kagome was entering her sixth month.

"Do you want to know the gender?" Kagome asked Sango now.

"Can you tell?" Sango questioned. Kagome shook her head.

"My nose isn't as sharp as Inuyasha's. But he can tell. We can go ask him, if you want." Kagome suggested. Sango smiled and nodded, putting the baby clothes away before standing. She helped a very pregnant Kagome to her feet. "Oh, I can't wait to get this baby out of me." Kagome sighed as Sango helped her walk - no, waddle - out of the small palace she and Inuyasha called home. "Do you know how hard it is to find a kimono that will fit anymore?"

"I can imagine." Sango laughed. "But try being pregnant with twins. It's even worse. At least you only have to carry the child for six months, instead of nine, like a normal human."

"Well, I guess I have to be thankful for that." Kagome sighed before smiling lightly at her adopted sister as they walked along the trail through the forest that led to the village. "I do feel sorry for you. I would hate to endure an extra three months of this."

"Well, no matter how long it is, it's all worth it in the end when you see that cute little bundle for the first time." Sango sighed, remembering the first time she saw Mio and Mia, and then the first time she saw Yuusuke. "You carry them all that time yet you never see them... and then they're suddenly there, in front of you, and you can't help but love them to death."

"I'm so excited. I can't wait to see our son." Kagome smiled as she rubbed her very round stomach affectionately. "Only two more weeks, if all goes well."

"Have you and Inuyasha decided on a name?" Sango asked as they made it out of the forest. They stopped at the edge of the forest, looking down the hill at the small peaceful village they called home.

"Well, I want Inuyasha to name him... but I told him that I have to agree with it, just in case he picks something ridiculous like Inuyasha-Two." Kagome giggled, earning a laugh from Sango.

"That sounds like something he would do... at least when he was less mature. But I'm not so sure about now. It seems liked he's turned into a fine adult." Sango smiled. Both women looked toward the tree in the center of the village where Inuyasha sat, guarding his home. No longer did he simply sleep the day away on his perch. Now he watched the village seriously, keeping a sharp eye out for anything suspicious. He glanced towards the women and flashed them a light smile that, in all seriousness, told them to be careful as they made their way down the hill toward the village. He didn't want the two pregnant women, Kagome especially, to slip on the grass that was wet from a recent rain.

"Who would've expected him to turn out like this?" Kagome smiled back at her mate as she spoke to Sango. "He'll be a wonderful father.

"Just like you'll be an excellent mother." Sango assured Kagome. Kagome smiled at her sister for a moment. Then they began to make their way down the hill toward the village.

-break-

"Good after noon, you two." Inuyasha smiled down at the women as they reached his tree. "Or should I say you four?" Both women smiled as their hands subconsciously moved to their stomachs. As if on cue, Kagome felt little thumps against her stomach, where the baby was kicking. Her smile brightened and she turned to her mate.

"Quick, come feel, Inuyasha!" Kagome cheered happily. Inuyasha hopped down from his tree and Kagome quickly took his hands, placing them on her round stomach. After feeling the little kicks Inuyasha couldn't help but smile tenderly at his mate.

"He's been kicking a lot recently, hasn't he?" Inuyasha smiled at his mate, watching as she slowly nodded. "He'll be a handful if he's this restless and hasn't even been born yet."

"Oh no... another Inuyasha!" Sango gasped in mock horror. "I have to tell Miroku so we can pack up and move to another village. There's no way we can handle TWO of you!"

"Hey! I'm not that bad..." Inuyasha pouted, faking hurt. Kagome giggled at her mate's behavior and leaned up to give him a quick peck on his lips.

"You're getting better." She told him with a happy smile. "Now, Sango has a question for you."

"Oh?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at the former demon slayer. "How rare. You never ask me anything. You always go to Kaede or Kagome."

"Well, this is something only you can answer." Sango smiled lightly. "Kagome's nose isn't as sharp as yours, you see, and I was wondering if, maybe, you could tell me what gender my baby is?" She asked, giving Inuyasha her best set of pleading eyes. Inuyasha merely stared at her, his face stoic and very similar to Sesshoumaru's for a moment.

"I can tell you." Inuyasha told her. "But I won't."

"What? Why not?" Sango frowned.

"Miroku might want to be surprised. Ask him first."

"But you told Kagome without her permission." Sango pointed out.

"That's because I knew Kagome would be happy to know. Besides that, I've known the gender of our child since the moment he was concieved, so it's not like I could ever be surprised. Eventually Kagome will be able to distinguish genders, too. But you and Miroku, however, have to agree before I tell you what your child is. I don't want Miroku to have his surprise ruined." Inuyasha explained as Sango listened, frowning the entire time.

"If I get his permission will you tell me?" Sango asked. When Inuyasha nodded she huffed and stormed off to find her husband. Kagome started to follow but Inuyasha grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"What's wrong, Inuyasha?" Kagome questioned as Inuyasha pulled her to him and started to sniff her like he was searching for something.

"You're about to begin nesting soon." Inuyasha told her as he took in her heavy scent of pregnancy, burying his nose in her neck. "We need to go to the den so you can get situated before the pup comes."

"Why the den?" Kagome asked him, tilting her head to give him better access to her neck. He rewarded her with a lick to her mating mark before standing up.

"Inu yokai and hanyou feel safer in dens when giving birth. It's a natural place that comforts them." he told her. "You will feel endangered if you gave birth anywhere else and, trust me, the end result will not be pretty."

"Why? What would happen?" Kagome questioned.

"You would feel like you and your pup are in danger, and your yokai would come out and attack anyone that comes near."

"Even you?" Kagome looked up at her mate with concern in her eyes. Inuyasha gave her a reassuring smile.

"No, not me. That's the thing about hanyou mates. We can control each other's yokai when they go loose, depending on the way we approach them." he told her. At her curious expression he continued. "My beast is aggressive and dominating. It would never harm its mate, but it will only listen if she approaches him in a way that did not challenge his dominance. As for your beast, I would merely have to put it back in place and show it who is alpha."

"I see. That sounds so typical of inu." Kagome sighed. "So, even if I lost control, I wouldn't attack my mate? I wouldn't attack you?"

"You would recognize me as your mate and the father of your pup, and you would see that I am no threat. In fact, you would view me as your protector, since that is what I will be after the pup is born." he smiled lightly at her. "Moving to the den is for me just as much as it is for you. If I see anyone near my recovering mate and newborn pup I will also lose control. If you lose control after that... well, things will get very ugly. That's why we're going to our den, where it is safe for us... and everyone else."

-Hi people! Aozora 12 again! Hope you liked this chapter. It's going to be a few days, maybe before I post the new chapter seventeen. I've had to go back and drastically rewrite a lot of my story because of a few errors and whatnot. Plus I had to change the plot just a little to match the chapters I've already posted. Those of you who got a "preview" last week (you know who you are) I apologize but that supposed "preview" is no longer valid. Gomen nasai!

Anyways, please continue to read and comment! I appreciate the reviews and constructive criticism!

Thanks!


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Inuyasha watched, amused, as his mate scurried about the den trying to make everything comfortable and clean. Or, at least she tried to scurry. With her very round stomach she could hardly move like that. Instead she waddled to and fro, cleaning whatever seemed slightly dirty and arranging the den to make it comfortable. She moved the bed of furs to the back of the den, putting the supplies that were there in the place where the bed was. Well, actually, she had Inuyasha move the heavy supplies and then arrange them how she wanted. Now they were neat and organized against the side wall of the den.

Inuyasha smiled lightly as he watched Kagome. She was nesting. Everything had to be perfect for her baby's arrival, and even that was coming very soon. In fact, she was due any day now. Inuyasha could tell that the baby was lower in her stomach than before, a sign that the birth would be quite soon. Now both parents were anxious for their son's arrival. Inuyasha made sure that everything was ready for the birth, which he would have to help Kagome with. Kaede had instructed him on what to do when Kagome was giving birth, and he'd been prepared ever since. Now they were just waiting for it to happen.

"Inu, I want a bath." Kagome told her mate, suddenly feeling dirty after cleaning so much. Inuyasha smiled lightly and stood, taking her hand in his.

"Alright, let's take a bath." He smiled, knowing that this was also part of nesting, a part that came near the end. After making sure the den was ready for the baby, the mother always wanted to make sure that her body was also clean and ready for the baby. After that the birth would happen within a few hours. The baby would be there before the night was over, and Inuyasha couldn't help but feel nervous, anxious, and happy. He was going to be a father tonight.

He and Kagome stripped once they reached the hot spring. Then Inuyasha helped Kagome into the water, following her into the spring. At once Kagome moved into his arms, wanted to cuddle with her mate before the birth, to create a slightly deeper bond between them just before the birth. This way she would feel even safer around him during and after the birth. Inuyasha smiled lightly and helped clean her as they cuddled together in the spring. He lovingly rubbed her round belly affectionately, growling low in his chest in a way that made Kagome feel safe as well as loved.

They relaxed in the warm water for several minutes. Occasionally Kagome would move out of her mate's arms to wash herself. Then she would quickly return to his arms to relax some more. After almost an hour of bathing Inuyasha noticed that Kagome's scent was changing. The scent of her pregnancy was quickly fading, replaced with the scent of birth. Not long after her noticed this did Kagome suddenly whimper with her first contraction, burying her face in her mate's chest to cope with the pain. After the contraction ended she looked up at Inuyasha.

"The baby is coming..." she told him, happiness and nervousness filling her eyes. Inuyasha smiled tenderly at her and gave her a gentle kiss. Then he scooped her up into his arms and walked out of the spring with her as she whimpered from another contraction.

"It's time to go back to the den."

-break-

Inuyasha smiled tenderly at the scene before him. Kagome was lying on the bed of furs as she recovered from giving birth. Sleeping on the furs beside her was a newborn infant, wrapped up carefully in a clean white cloth. Kagome was purring in content as she stared down at her son, taking in his features. The infant had Inuyasha's silver hair and doggy ears, with black tips on his ears and the ends of his short but thick hair. Kagome smiled happily as she lay beside the baby, and she took in his scent and memorized it. Inuyasha decided to approach now. He had helped her give birth and then cleaned off the baby. After that he held his son for a total of five seconds before handing him over to his mother to feed. Then he'd simply sat near the den entrance to guard his family from harm.

Kagome looked up at the figure that was approaching her and her baby. It was night now, and the den was very dark with only a small fire to give light. She couldn't see that it was her mate was approaching, and she instantly feared danger. At once she let out a low warning growl to the dark figure she saw, moving her baby closer to her. Inuyasha responded with a low growl of his own, one that asserted his dominance in the way a mate would. Kagome recognized her mate's growl and instantly relaxed, giving him a small whine of apology as he came closer. Inuyasha laughed lightly as he bent on one knee beside his recovering mate and reached out to gently caress her face.

"It's okay. I know it's dark in here." he smiled gently at her. "Use your nose next time, okay?"

"Sorry." Kagome mumbled quietly as she leaned into his strong hand. "I wasn't thinking." Inuyasha smiled lightly and turned to look down at his newborn son. He may have Inuyasha's yokai features, but his face was definitely Kagome's. "You can hold him." Kagome told her mate when she noticed him looking at their son.

"You'll get mad if I do that." Inuyasha sighed. "You may recognize me as your mate, but you just gave birth. Your beast doesn't want anyone to touch your baby until your body has recovered, even if it's your mate. I'm fine with looking for now." He smiled softly at Kagome. He reached up and gently rubbed one of her fuzzy black ears, watching as she smiled at the pleasant and calming feeling. "You should sleep now. You deserve to rest. I'll keep you and the pup safe while you sleep."

"Okay." Kagome said quietly, stifling a yawn. "Good night, Inuyasha. Love you..."

"You, too." Inuyasha smiled gently. He watched her as she fell asleep. After a few minutes she began to purr in content again, smiling in her sleep as she took in the scent of her mate and her pup, both staying close to her. Their scents lulled her into a happy and deep sleep.

-break-

"He's so... calm." Kagome said quietly as she held the three-day-old baby in her arms. The infant was looking up at his mother with calm golden eyes. He was wide awake and looking around the den, his eyes resting on his mother or father often. He already recognized his parents' faces, voices, and scents. He knew when his father was holding him or if it was his mother that held him. So far he only cried when he was hungry, needed a diaper change, or was left alone too long. Aside from that he was very calm. He slept at night, waking up only once or twice to be fed. During the day he stayed awake most of the time, only sleeping for about two hours at a time after he fed. He was a very content pup and, for that, both his parents were grateful.

"What are you going to name him?" Kagome looked up at her mate now. Inuyasha looked up at her from where he sat near the den's entrance, guarding his mate and pup.

"I've told you before, Kagome. We have to wait seven days to name him." Inuyasha told her for the hundredth time that day.

"But I want to be able to call my baby _something_!" Kagome pouted.

"Look, I can't break tradition." Inuyasha sighed. "If you want to call him something... well, he's an inu hanyou. Call him Inu-chan for now, since that'll probably be his nickname for a few years. Both Sesshoumaru and I went by that name until we turned three, although Sesshoumaru actually went by Inu-sama, being a pureblood prince and whatnot."

"Inu-chan..." Kagome looked down at the pup and smiled brightly. "Such a cute nickname! Inu-chan... You're so cute, Inu-chan..." Kagome cooed to the little baby, leaning down to gently rub her nose against his, purring happily as she bonded with her pup. Inu-chan reached out with his tiny hand and grabbed a loose strand of his mother's hair, making Kagome giggle. Inuyasha watched with a proud smile as his mate and pup bonded, all while keeping his ears alert and listening for any possible threats outside their den. The sound of a twig snapping caught his full attention, and he quickly turned to look outside their den. Kagome also heard the twig, and she instantly took the baby to the back of the cave. She held the pup close and kept her eyes trained on her mate, a mixture of worry and protectiveness flashing through her eyes as Inuyasha slowly moved towards the cave entrance.

Inuyasha let out a low warning growl as he looked outside the den, trying to ward off whatever creature dared to come near the den of an inu with a mate and newborn child. Even the forest animals knew to stay away from the very aggressive parents. Inuyasha knew that the twig snapping was not a forest animal. It was either a human that was not aware of their den, or a yokai that was very aware of the den.

The sound of Kagome's worried whine caught Inuyasha's attention for a moment. He kept his eyes trained outside, but one of his ears flicked back to listen to her. He knew she was frightened by his warning growl. She knew something was out there, and she was worried for her baby. Inuyasha gave her a quick glance, his serious expression telling her to be quiet as he searched for the intruder. Luckily she got the message and forced herself not to whine. Inuyasha turned back toward the forest, listening intently for any movement among the trees. No other sounds were made, but he knew it wasn't safe to relax just yet. While his ears could not detect any intruders, his nose could smell something unwanted moving in the trees.

Another growl escaped Inuyasha's throat as his eyes finally detected something white moving in the trees. He turned toward the movement, his eyes flashing red for a moment as his beast demanded that he attack the stranger, but he instantly found himself staring at Sesshoumaru. Instantly his beast receded as it recognized a pack member, the pack's alpha at that. He stopped his angry growling, although he did give Sesshoumaru a small warning growl, telling him to come no closer to their den. Sesshoumaru stopped a good twenty feet away from the den, staring expectantly at his little brother.

"You have chosen a good place for your den. It was very hard to find." Sesshoumaru spoke first, before Inuyasha could even ask why he was here. "From the scent lingering in the air I can tell your mate has already given birth. I have come to give my blessings to the newest pack member."

"Your blessings?" Inuyasha questioned, slowly walking out of the den but staying very close to the entrance. "To my son? Since when do you give anything to a hanyou, much less blessings?" Inuyasha frowned.

"I knew you would respond as such." Sesshoumaru sighed, crossing his arms in front of him. "That is why I have also come to make amends, little brother." This surprised Inuyasha even more than his sudden appearance did. Sesshoumaru never acknowledged Inuyasha as his brother, never. "I have come to realize that humans and hanyou are not as despicable as I had originally believed. After all, how can I hate humans and hanyou when my mate is human and the child growing within her is hanyou?"

"You... mated Rin?" Inuyasha questioned, even more shocked by this than being acknowledged as his brother.

"She does not bear my mark yet, but my son grows within her as of five days ago." Sesshoumaru told him. "I have followed in our father's footsteps, it seems."

-break-

Kagome slowly walked out of the den, her young pup held protectively against her bosom as she hesitantly approached the inu taiyokai. Her beast recognized Sesshoumaru as the pack alpha, and she knew it would anger him if she disrespected him in any way... but she was still a very new mother, one very protective of her pup, and she would not easily trust anyone with her pup. Unfortunately she had to trust Sesshoumaru with the baby if he was to bestow his blessings upon the pup. She looked to her mate now, worry filling her eyes as she laid her ears back against her skull. Inuyasha merely nodded his head toward Sesshoumaru, telling her to trust him.

Looking down at her sleeping pup one last time, she slowly handed him over to Sesshoumaru, who was surprisingly careful as he took the infant in his arms. Sesshoumaru stared down at the sleeping baby, his eyes soft for only a moment before returning to normal before the others could see. He held the infant gently as he took in the features; the little puppy ears, the tiny claws, the silver hair with black tips. He wondered for a moment if his son would look like this when he was born.

"His aura seems strong and powerful. He will be a great warrior, like our father." Sesshoumaru said as he held the child. Then he turned to the sleeping babe. "I, Sesshoumaru, Son of the great Inutaisho of the West, give my blessings as alpha to you, and accept you into my pack." With that said he took the pup's hand and pricked one of his tiny fingers with his claw, drawing blood. At the scent of her baby's blood Kagome started growling and rushing toward her pup. Inuyasha held her back and gave her a warning growl that calmed her. She stopped growling but started whining instead, her eyes filling with worried tears for her baby. She watched as Sesshoumaru leaned down and gently licked the tiny drop of blood from the infant's finger. The small cut healed instantly and Sesshoumaru handed the baby back to his worried mother. He turned to Inuyasha now.

"Father requested that, when you have your first child, I am to give you the deed to your half of the Western lands." Sesshoumaru told him now, surprising both the new parents.

"My half?" Inuyasha questioned.

"It has been under my care until now. You were not to receive the deed until you had an heir of your own. In fact, you've been unknowingly living in your own land, little brother. Kaede's village and this forest are all part of your land." Sesshoumaru explained. "I will officially hand you the deed to your half when your son reaches one year in age. For now I must leave. I have a pregnant mate to tend to, afterall." Then he did something so completely uncharacteristic before he left that it left both the new parents staring at him in shock. He smiled. And, if Kagome hadn't already been Inuyasha's loyal mate and mother to his pup, she might have actually thought that he was incredibly attractive when he smiled, almost more so than Inuyasha. She suddenly understood why Sesshoumaru was always so calm and hid his expressions. It was to keep away the swarms of women that would surely flock to him whenever he smiled.

-Hi everybody! Aozora12 again! I finally got this chapter posted, and I have to say I'm rather proud of myself on this one!

A little helpful information: many pregnant women, not all, tend to "nest" before the baby arrives. Many are restless and clean a lot, subconsciously preparing for the baby's arrival. It's different for everyone, however, so don't call me out on that if you've been pregnant and didn't act that way.

Also, I know it's not the best for a pregnant women to be in a hot spring but, in my mind, the water is about the same warmth as a mildly warm bath, not hot like a hot tub. Last time I check, a warm bath was okay for a pregnant woman, since it would probably be bad for them to bathe in ice water all the time. But like I said, don't call me out on that since I've only studied pregnancy in Anatomy class. I've never actually been pregnant so I'm not 100% sure on anything at the moment.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Next chapter is coming soon, hopefully. Midterms this week so... maybe next week? It'll be sometime soon, promise!

Please read and comment. I LOVE constructive criticism! Just please no foul language or hateful comments like "This story sucks" or anything like that. I do have feelings, you know.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Kagome gently rocked with the drowsy infant, trying to rock him to sleep as she hummed a quiet tune. At the same time she was trying not to fall asleep, as well. She had to stay awake and on guard while Inuyasha was out hunting. She shuddered to think of what could happen if she fell asleep before Inuyasha returned. Some vicious yokai could attack and kill her baby. She could be killed, as well, but Kagome was more worried for the safety of her pup. She could always sleep when Inuyasha came back, but she wasn't going to risk it while he was away and they were unguarded.

Now that Kagome thought about it... she felt sorry for Inuyasha. He was either guarding Kagome and the pup or hunting. He hadn't slept very much at all the last seven days since the baby was born, always staying awake to protect and provide for his family. Luckily hanyou didn't need as much sleep as humans... but surely Inuyasha couldn't go much longer without sleep. Kagome wanted to give him a break, maybe even stay awake one night so he could sleep... but her body was still recovering from the birth and it demanded sleep. Maybe she could give him a break during the day?

"You look tired." Inuyasha's voice came as he returned to the den with a dead boar in his hand, held by a tusk. He sat down beside the fire pit and got to work on skinning his catch. "Go to sleep, Kagome. You need the rest so you can recover."

"But you need sleep, too." Kagome told him. "You'll give out if you continue like this."

"I'll manage, Kagome. You and the pup are my first priority right now." Inuyasha told her. Then he switched topics. "Speaking of the pup, today is the day to name him. Are you sure you want me to name him?"

"As long as it's nothing stupid, I don't mind." Kagome sighed, giving up on trying to convince him to rest. She stood up from the bed of furs and made her way over to her mate with their pup in her arms. Then she sat down beside him and leaned against his shoulder. "So what are you going to name your son?" Inuyasha looked away from the boar he was preparing to roast and turned to look down at his sleeping son.

"Well, not that I care for our family's tradition... but generally the boys have Inu somewhere in their name. Sesshoumaru doesn't like me telling others this, but there is actually an Inu in front of Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha told her. "So his name means Dog Killing Circle. My name means Dog Demon."

"So Inu-chan is also going to have Inu in his name?" Kagome questioned. Inuyasha nodded.

"I've actually been thinking about it a lot. Sesshoumaru is right; our son has a very strong aura. He'll make an excellent warrior one day, which is why his name is Inu Senshi, Dog Warrior." Inuyasha said, looking at his mate for approval. She looked up at him and then down at their pup, clearing trying to decide if he looked like a Senshi or not. After a few minutes a happy smile graced her lips.

"Senshi... I like it. My little Senshi is going to grow up to be a wonderful senshi." She giggled happily. Then she looked up at Inuyasha. "It's a wonderful name, Inuyasha." Inuyasha smiled lightly at his mate.

"I'm glad you approve." He smiled. Then he returned to preparing the dead boar for dinner.

-break-

Sango sighed heavily as she stared toward the forest, hoping to see her adopted sister return at any moment with her mate and newborn pup. They had been gone nearly three months, and the long wait was killing her. "This is almost as bad as when they first got mated." She sighed to no one in particular. Kaede, who was standing nearby, heard her and smiled lightly.

"Ye forget that inu are very protective of their young." Kaede told Sango. "The new parents will attack anything that comes near their newborn pup, especially before the mother has recovered enough to protect the pup."

"But still... three months is a long time. Especiall since hanyou age quickly during the first few months of life. The child should appear to be almost a year old by now. Is that not enough time?" Sango pouted.

"Why do ye not ask them yourself?" Kaede smiled, looking towards the forest. Sango looked towards the woods again and gasped happily when she saw the familiar red haori of Inuyasha emerge from the trees, followed by his mate in a light blue kimono, with a young child in her arms, wearing the red outfit that made him match with his father. Even from the distance Sango could see the child's silver hair and little doggie ears, with tips of black on the hair and ears. As the new parents came closer Sango smiled happily and hurried over to them as fast as she could, which wasn't fast with her six month pregnant belly.

Kagome saw Sango approaching and, as much as she wanted to run to her sister and hug her, she hid behind Inuyasha with her pup. Inuyasha glanced back at her with a light smile. "Instincts sure are pesky, huh?" he laughed lightly. Kagome nodded, feeling bad that she was hiding from Sango. She knew Sango wouldn't hurt her pup, but her instincts told her not to trust anyone but her mate with her pup. "It'll wear off by the time he reaches four months old." Inuyasha assured her. Kagome merely nodded and peeked out from behind her mate to look at Sango, who was ever so slowly making her way to the edge of the village to greet them. In the distance she could see that Shippou and Miroku were with Kaede, and all of them were staying in the village. They knew to simply watch from a distance to avoid angering the aggressive inu parents. Even Sango knew this, but she also knew that Inuyasha's instincts were most likely in control by now, and he would at least let her close enough to see the baby, even if she couldn't hold him.

"Welcome back." Sango smiled breathlessly as she stopped in front of Inuyasha. Then she paused the catch her breath before looking up at him again. "How does it feel to be a father?"

"Different, I guess." Inuyasha shrugged. He turned back to Kagome. "Are you going to at least let her see him? Or did she come all this way for nothing?"

"B-but my instincts..." Kagome complained.

"You have enough control now to fight them long enough to let Sango see our son." He told her as he turned back to Sango. "Just don't touch him, or she might attack you. I'll stop her, of course, but I can't guarantee your child's safety." he warned, motioning to Sango's round belly.

"Note taken." Sango gulped, her arms moving to cover her stomach protectively. Inuyasha saw that she understood, so he stepped aside to reveal his mate and pup. Kagome hesitantly stepped closer to let Sango see her pup. "Oh, he's so cute..." Sango smiled as she stared at the child. Even though he was only three months old, he appeared to be around the age of one year. His silver and black-tipped hair was already down to his shoulders. He was asleep, with his head resting on his mother's shoulder, and a tiny fang was poking out of his mouth. His ears twitched constantly at the sound of a stranger's voice, but he could sense that his parents were calm so he stayed asleep. Sango smiled happily at the cute red outfit that made him match with his father. "What's his name?"

"Senshi." Kagome answered quietly. "But we call him Inu-chan right now. When he gets older we'll call him Senshi."

"How cute. You have your own little warrior." Sango smiled. "I'll bet he's as strong as his father is."

"He'll be even stronger than me if I have anything to say about it." Inuyasha smirked. "Once he's old enough he'll start training." As Inuyasha spoke a breeze blew past them. It was late fall now, and the air was beginning to feel quite chilly. Kagome shivered from the cold breeze, and Inuyasha quickly draped his haori over her shoulders, moving it so that it covered their pup as well. "It's rather cold outside. Why don't we go to Kaede's to introduce the pup?" he suggested. Both women nodded and followed Inuyasha further into the village.

-break-

_(okay, officially the chapter is over. But I wrote this cute little section that doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the story, but it fills in a small gap of about five months. Here it's three months later, and the next chapter will be about two months later. But i just wanted to put this in because it was cute and I was proud of myself for adding such adorableness to the story!)_

Senshi Counts Five

Kagome smiled as Senshi chewed on a strip of leather as they sat in Sango's hut, enjoying some tea. Sango's children were playing outside and enjoying the nice spring weather. Senshi was inside with his mother, teething... sort of. He had all his teeth, but he was at that age where pups just wanted to chew on something. Inuyasha had given him a strip of leather to keep him from chewing on everything in sight. He was six months old now, although he looked to be nearly two years old. Walking and running, it was hard for his parents to keep up with him when he felt like running wild. Luckily he was a very tame child, and that didn't happen very often.

Inuyasha walked into the hut with Miroku, each man carrying a bushel of rice over their shoulders, their bounty from their most recent exorcism. "Welcome back." Kagome smiled at the men. Inuyasha smiled back and put his bushel down before walking over to sit by his mate and pup. He grabbed Senshi's leather and gave it a tug, encouraging him to play tug-of-war with him. Senshi growled as he tried to get the leather out of his father's hand, and Inuyasha returned with a playful growl of his own. When Senshi realized that he couldn't win he attacked his father, jumping on him and biting and clawing playfully. Inuyasha laughed as his son managed to bite his ear, and he surrendered the piece of leather to his son.

"I'll never understand inu playing." Miroku chuckled as he watched the scene. "You're rewarding your son for attacking your most sensitive place, Inuyasha."

"That's the point. I'm teaching him to target a foe's weakness and use that to his advantage." Inuyash told him. "Inu learn how to fight through playing, at first. Then you just develope on those skills when they're older."

"Tou-san, tou-san..." Senshi got his father's attention now. When Inuyasha looked down at his pup the boy smiled. "Tou-san, me count five!" Senshi smiled, holding up five fingers.

"Oh, you can count to five now?" Inuyasha smiled. "That's impressive, Senshi."

"Show him, Inu-chan." Kagome encouraged. Excited, the boy began to count.

"Ichi, nii, Sango, shii!" the boy cheered.

"You mixed up four and five, Inu-chan." Sango laughed at how he'd said her name when counting. "It's ichi, nii, san, shii, go."

"Me count five!" Senshi merely cheered, not caring that he messed up. Inuyasha chuckled and ruffled his son's hair.

"You sure did. Good job."

-Hola, people! And... how cute was that last part? :) I'm really proud of myself on the level of cuteness going on there. I sort of stole the counting bit my my little cousin, who is two now. She mixed up her numbers a little but she manage to count to ten. It was adorable! I just had to recreate it with a cute little inu hanyou puppy!

Thanks for reading. Sorry if I don't update enough but I do have a life. Plus two other stories... and homework. Speaking of which, I have an essay due tomorrow! Oh no! I gotta go!

Thanks, and please review! :)

-Aozora12

AHHH! MY HOMEWORK!


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Kagome smiled happily as she waited by the edge of the village. In the distance she could see Sesshoumaru and Rin approaching, Inuyasha walking alongside them as he talked to his brother. In Rin's arms was a two-month-old inu hanyou child, looking to be nearly a year old already. Kagome was surprised that she was letting Inuyasha anywhere near her and her pup, but then she realized that Rin hadn't been turned into a hanyou yet, so she must not have those instincts. Sesshoumaru seemed to only allow Inuyasha near her because he was a pack member, but he made sure to growl at Inuyasha if he got too close to his pup.

"Kaa-san, kaa-san..." Senshi got his mother's attention now, reaching his arms up so she would hold him. Kagome smiled at her eight-month-old that looked like he was already three. Inuyasha had told her that he would age quickly until he turned a year old. By then he would look to be about five years old. After that his aging would slow to that of a human's until he turned eighteen, when he would nearly stop aging altogether. He would gain one year in appearance for every hundred years he lived. She picked Senshi up and gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Inu-chan, did you have fun playing with Shippou and the twins?" Kagome smiled at her son, who nodded enthusiastically. Then Senshi frowned.

"Mia-chan pulled my ear, kaa-san." he pouted, pointing to his right ear. Kagome smiled sympathetically at him. The twins just didn't understand how sensitive inu ears were. Kagome felt sorry for all the times she tugged on Inuyasha's ears when she was angry. Now that she had inu ears of her own she realized just how painful even a light tug was. Then the noise... everything was so incredibly loud when she first became hanyou. It took her a long time to get used to it, and she apologized to Inuyasha a million times for always shouting in his ear.

"The twins don't know how much it hurts, Inu-chan. I'm sure if you tell them they'll understand and stop pulling them." Kagome told her son as she gave his ear a gentle kiss. Then she reached up and gently rubbed it, smiling as Senshi began to purr happily at the feeling. She glanced up at her mate and saw that he was walking back to the village, Sesshoumaru and Rin following closely with their son. Kagome smiled and turned back to Senshi. "Why don't you go meet up with your otou-san?" she smiled. Senshi smiled back and quickly jumped to the ground out of her arms. Kagome smiled as Senshi ran to his father excitedly.

-break-

Inuyasha laughed as his son ran to him. He bent down and picked up the pup, lifting him up to ride on his shoulders. Rin squealed in delight when she saw the child. "Is that your son, Inuyasha?" she asked him excitedly. Inuyasha smiled and turned back to the young woman.

"He sure is. Senshi, say hi." Inuyasha looked up at his son who smiled happily as he held onto his father's head.

"Hi, onee-san. Can I see the puppy?" Senshi asked.

"Sure." Rin giggled, turning the pup in her arms so Senshi could see his face. The pup had Sesshoumaru's face (minus the yokai markings), that much was for sure, but he had Rin's black hair, with hidden silver strands in it. Two golden eyes looked around at the world curiously. "Say hello, Muteki-chan." Rin smiled as she made the baby wave his arm.

"Ah, so that's what you named him." Inuyasha chuckled. "Muteki... invincible. It suits him."

"Indeed." Sesshoumaru said in a monotone voice. They reached the edge of the village and Inuyasha smiled at his mate as he returned Senshi into her arms.

"Inu-chan, it's almost time for your nap." Kagome smiled gently at her son, who pouted but didn't protest. She turned to Rin with a smile. "Welcome back. I would hug you, but I have the feeling Sesshoumaru doesn't want anyone near his pup just yet." Hearing this, Rin looked up at Sesshoumaru with pleading eyes. Even Sesshoumaru was helpless against those puppy eyes of hers, and he sighed his defeat soon enough.

"Give me Muteki." Sesshoumaru frowned. Rin smiled victoriously and handed her son off to Sesshoumaru before running to hug Kagome.

"I missed you, Kagome." Rin smiled at her sister. "I can't believe Senshi is so big already. He's only eight months old, right?"

"Almost nine." Senshi smiled, holding up ten fingers. Kagome giggled and gently put one finger down.

"That's nine, Inu-chan. You were holding up ten." she smiled as she gently rubbed her nose against his. Senshi merely laughed and hugged his mother's head. Kagome giggled and turned back to Rin. "So you and Sesshoumaru are mates?"

"Almost." Rin smiled. "We won't technically be mated until he bites me, like Inuyasha did to you. I still have two months left before then." Kagome nodded, understanding. Inuyasha had explained to her after they mated that he had been giving her his yoki for several months so she wouldn't have a bad reaction to it when he did bite her. Rin looked around now, as if she was looking for something. "Kagome, where is Sango?"

"She's resting right now. She gave birth two months ago and she's been exhausted since." Kagome answered.

"Oh, how wonderful! Was it a boy or girl?" Rin asked excitedly. Kagome merely smiled.

"Both. She had triplets. Two boys and one girl." Kagome giggled. "You can see why she's exhausted. And poor Miroku, she's not letting him off the hook this time." Both girls giggled at this. Rin was about to continue talking when Muteki started to get fussy. He squirmed around in his father's arms as he reached for his mother. "Aw, how cute! He's a mama's boy!" Kagome smiled as Rin hurried to save her son from Sesshoumaru, who was starting to openly panic about his son's crying. "I wish Inu-chan was a mama's boy."

"He seems pretty attached to you to me." Rin smiled.

"Well, he has his moments... but he tends to stick to Inuyasha's heels all day." Kagome smiled lightly at her mate, who merely grinned and shrugged.

"What can I say? It's only natural that a son looks up to his father." Inuyasha laughed, walking over to his mate and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. Senshi, seeing his father kiss his mother, smiled and also gave Kagome a kiss on the cheek, a rather wet kiss at that. Inuyasha laughed again and ruffled his son's hair.

"Oh, you're so cute, Inu-chan." Kagome giggled, giving her son a kiss on the forehead. Then she turned and gave Inuyasha a quick peck on the lips. "I'm going to put him down for a nap. Are Sesshoumaru, Rin, and the pup going to stay with us?"

"Yeah." Inuyasha sighed.

"I'll prepare a room, then." Kagome smiled. She turned back to Rin. "You should go see Sango. She really missed you." With that said Kagome turned and carried Senshi away. Senshi frowned, knowing that he was going to get a nap, but he knew better than to protest. After the first time Kagome scolded him, a frightening event indeed, he had learned not to get on his mother's bad side.

-break-

Kagome, Sango, and Rin giggled happily as they chatted in Sango's hut later that evening. Miroku and Sesshoumaru were on baby duty, and the older kids were outside the hut, playing. Inuyasha sat in his usual tree, guarding the village from danger. He glanced up at the sky, sighing when he saw how late it was getting. The sun would set in only an hour or so, and no moon would rise to shine light on the small village. It would be a long night for Inuyasha, although he didn't know just how true that was.

"It is good to see ye again, young Rin." Kaede's voice came as she entered the hut now. Rin smiled happily at the older woman.

"It's good to see you, too, Kaede. How have you been?" Rin asked, earning a gentle smile from the old miko.

"Well enough, I suppose." she answered. Then she turned to Kagome. "Should ye not head home soon, Kagome? Inuyasha will be worried if you stay out too late."

"Why is that?" Rin asked, cocking her head to one side.

"It's the night of the new moon." Sango answered for her. "Inuyasha, Kagome, and Inu-chan all turn human tonight."

"I should take Senshi home soon." Kagome sighed as she stood. "But I really don't want to leave. There's so much we still have to catch up on. Why don't you gather the children and come to our home? There's a strong barrier around it that prevents any unwanted humans and yokai from getting near it." Kagome suggested. Immediately Sango and Rin smiled and stood.

"That is an excellent idea, Kagome." Sango smiled. "Let me find Miroku so he can help us with all the children."

"I'll find Sesshoumaru and Muteki. Let's meet at the edge of the village in ten minutes." Rin smiled. Kagome nodded and the other two women left. Now Kagome turned to Kaede.

"Would you like to come, Kaede? I'm sure Rin wants to catch up with you, as well." Kagome smiled.

"It is a kind offer, but I must decline. There is an ill woman in the village that needs my care tonight." Kaede smiled lightly. "Perhaps another time."

"Alright. Another time." Kagome smiled brightly before hurrying to retrieve her son. She took Senshi to Inuyasha's tree. "Inuyasha, I'm taking Senshi home, and Sango and Rin are coming with me."

"It'll be dark before you get there." Inuyasha told her. "You passed out during the last new moon because you were walking when you changed. You should wait until you turn human before you go anywhere, but hurry home right after that."

"When will you be home?" Kagome asked.

"I'll be there soon. Don't worry." He smiled lightly at her. Kagome smiled back and then took Senshi to the edge of the village to wait for her friends and their families. Soon Rin showed up with Muteki, Sesshoumaru stopping at Inuyasha's tree to talk to him. After that came Sango and Miroku, all six children in tow. Mio, Mia, and Yuusuke all rode on a transformed Kirara. Sango carried her youngest sons in her arms, and Miroku had the youngest daughter with him, with Shippou riding on his shoulder. It almost seemed like they were all coming to stay the night at the small palace, the safest place in the village during the new moon when Inuyasha couldn't protect them.

"I never realized just how many people there are around me." Kagome giggled as she looked at everyone. The sun began to set now, and Kagome could feel her sharp senses beginning to dull. Senshi whimpered as he, too, felt the changes. Like his father, Senshi hated the new moon. It made him feel very weak.

When the sun was finally below the horizon, and Kagome and Senshi were both human, the group set out for the palace. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru followed them at a distance, still talking about something having to do with strange yokai attacking nearby human villages. Kagome wanted to listen, but her ears were human now and she couldn't hear them from so far away. Now she realized why Inuyasha hated the new moon. It made her feel blind and deaf after being used to heightened senses for so long.

Sesshoumaru suddenly stopped walking. He stopped talking and just stood there, glaring into the trees. Inuyasha recognized that look. It meant trouble was coming. Instantly, as if both brothers shared the same thought, they ran for their mates and children. Kagome looked up just in time to see an ominous shadow quickly approaching their group, with bright red eyes full of hunger and blood lust staring straight at her.

-OOOOHHHH! A Cliffie! New moon + human Inuyasha + danger = SUSPENSE! I wonder what's going to happen... oh, wait... I Know! Ahahahaha!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It's not as long as I wanted, and it's not as detailed, either. But life got in the way and I had to take out a few things. Oh well.

I think it's funny that Sesshoumaru is a dad now. Oh, and he was on BABY DUTY! Oh, that was so hilarious! I was laughing my butt off when I wrote that part! I really can't see him as a father, but I tried to show it in my story. I hope you got as much of a kick out of it as I did.

Anyways, the next chapter is going to answer a question that many of you have asked me: what happened to Kagome's miko powers? Wouldn't she purify herself if she became hanyou? It took me a while to come up with a believable solution to that question.

Please review! I love the feedback. It tells me how well I'm doing and I can fix any complaints that people have. (But please no foul language. Small cuss words are fine, but PLEASE do not drop an F bomb every five words. Not only is it rude, but it's also grammatically incorrect. Thank you.)

Thanks for reading!

-Aozora12


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

(I apologize in advance. I'm not that great at battle scenes and this is probably really crappy. Please don't be mad T.T)

Kagome's terrified scream alerted the other humans to the danger. As the beast descended upon Kagome, Sango manage to pull her daughters and Yuusuke off of Kirara, who attacked the beast and saved Kagome just in time. Kagome stumbled back a few feet, cluthing Senshi tightly in her arms. She didn't hesitate, and she quickly turned to the others. "Get to the palace!" She shouted at the other humans. Sango was already running with her children, Miroku following closely. Miroku picked up Yuusuke as he ran, and Rin gathered the twins in her arms and followed them with Muteki in his carrier on her back. Kagome hurried after them with Senshi as more beasts emerged from the forest. She could hear Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru shouting behind her, and she knew they were being blocked by even more yokai.

A yokai appeared in front of the group now, but Shippou attacked it with his fox fire, distracting the demon long enough for the humans to run past. Unfortunately they weren't fast enough, and several demons surrounded them. Seeing that there was no way through all those demons without endangering their children, the humans quickly put their children down and formed a protective circle around them, much like a pack would. The older children held the infants and Shippou hopped down into the group of children to protect them should a yokai get too close. Sango pulled a dagger from her kimono, Miroku wielded his monk's staff as a weapon, and even Rin had a hidden sword in her kimono, having been taught how to fight by Sesshoumaru for her own protection. The only human defenseless was Kagome.

"Can you erect a barrier, Kagome?" Sango quickly asked as the demons came closer.

"Even if she could, there's not enough time." Miroku told his wife as the beasts descended on them. Kagome managed to grab a thick tree branch to swing at the yokai, hitting one squarely in the jaw and knocking it back a few feet. With her hanyou strength gone, however, she was unable to knock out the demon and only succeeded in angering it. It attacked her again and she barely managed to defend herself from it. She looked around, praying that someone was free enough to help her, but the other humans were all busy fighting their own demons. Sango managed to cut down one yokai but, before she could take another breath, another yokai took its place. They were completely surrounded by the hungry beasts, their children were all screaming and crying, and their main protectors were far away, fighting their own battles.

The yokai Kagome was fighting finally managed to hit her. Kagome screamed as its claws slashed her arm. Sango glanced over her shoulder when she heard her sister scream, and she saw the girl struggling to her feet to fight on. "Kagome, use your miko powers on him!" Sango shouted. "Can't you use the branch as a medium for your powers?!"

"I don't have any powers!" Kagome called back, her voice cracking out of desperation as she defended herself against the beast once more. Her confession startled all the humans, though they still managed to fight.

"What do you mean, Kagome?" Rin asked as she slashed through a snake yokai.

"I haven't had any miko powers for a long time. Otherwise I would have purified myself and I would still be human." Kagome managed to tell her friends just before the yokai hit her again, aiming for the place he injured her before. Kagome cried out as the beast made her wound much, much deeper, and she started to fall to the ground. She was only inches from hitting the ground when strong hands caught her. She slowly looked up and gasped in surprise when she saw Inuyasha standing there, covered in wounds and breathing heavily. He'd somehow managed to get through the yokai to their group, even though he was human right now.

"Inuyasha!" The entire group shouted in a mixture of relief and worry. They were relieved that he was finally there, and they would have more people to defend the children... but he was already incredibly injured. It was a wonder how he was even standing.

"Kagome, hit me!" Inuyasha quickly ordered his mate, ignoring the others.

"W-what?" the group gasped. If Kagome hit him he would only be even more injured, and possibly incapacitated. Where was the point in that?!

"Hit me! Now! You will awaken my yokai, even though it's the new moon. Do it or we'll all die before Sesshoumaru makes it!" he shouted. Kagome understood what he was thinking, even though the others didn't. If Kagome hit Inuyasha for absolutely no reason, his yokai would see it as his mate challenging him for dominance. His yokai would come out and, before punishing his mate, he would get rid of any distractions, aka the demons attacking them. So Kagome quickly got to her feet and, with her uninjured arm, pulled back and punched Inuyasha in the jaw with all her might. However, with the mixture of pain and loss of blood, all Kagome was able to see before she passed out was his eyes flashing red. Then everything went black.

-break-

Kagome sat up with a start, breathing heavily and looking around. The last thing she remembered was punching Inuyasha. What happened after that? Where were all the yokai? Wait... she was in her bedroom at the palace. Had all the humans made it to the palace? Where was Inuyasha? Where were Sango, Miroku, Rin, and all the children? Where was Senshi?!

"Calm down, Kagome." Inuyasha's voice came to her ears. Kagome turned to find Inuyasha sitting on their futon. He was only in his hakama, and the greater majority of his torso was covered in bandages. He held a sleeping Senshi in his lap, and Kagome was relieved to find that her son was uninjured.

"Inuyasha... Is... is everyone okay?"

"All the children are fine. Miroku and Sango got a few nasty cuts, and Rin got a bump to the head. Sesshoumaru managed to lose his arm again, but it should grow back within a year." Inuyasha told her. "You got a nasty wound to your shoulder, but it's healing nicely."

"W-what happened... after I passed out?" Kagome asked him.

"My yokai came out and I managed to hold the yokai back long enough for Sesshoumaru to kill the rest." Inuyasha explained. "My yokai wanted to punish you for hitting me, but then it saw that you were injured and unconscious and its priorities switched to getting you and our crying pup to safety. Once I got you and Senshi to the palace he receded and I gained enough common sense to get the others in here as well. Now everybody's resting and recovering from their injuries. Senshi hasn't left your side since we got here. He was really scared for you, Kagome." Inuyasha smiled lightly at their sleeping son. "You've been asleep for three days. How does your shoulder feel?"

"I think it's mostly healed." Kagome told him as she slowly moved her shoulder around. Then she reached out for Senshi. Inuyasha smiled and handed their son over to his mother, who promptly looked the sleeping boy over to make sure he wasn't injured. After she was satisfied with her inspection she held the young boy close and gently rocked back and forth with him. She'd been so worried for his safety when the yokai attacked; she'd never been so afraid in her life.

"I know how you feel." Inuyasha sighed, knowing what Kagome was thinking as she held her pup close. "I was terrified that I was going to lose my mate, my pup, and my entire pack... all because I was too weak to protect them." he sighed and stared intently at his mate. "From now on I want you and Senshi inside the palace an hour before sunset on the night of the new moon. I'm not taking anymore chances with you two, especially during the new moon." Kagome merely nodded in agreement. After that scare with the yoaki she no longer wanted to take any chances, either... especially with Senshi. If it kept her pup out of danger, she wouldn't mind one bit if she simply had to stay in the palace all day on the days of the new moon.

"No more chances on the new moon." Kagome agreed quietly as she stared down at her sleeping pup. "No more."

-break-

It was a week after Kagome woke up, and the entire group had gathered in the courtyard of Inuyasha's palace, Kaede included. The older children played on the other side of the courtyard while the parents kept the younger children with them. Sango and Miroku held their triplets, both parents still covered in minor scrapes and bruises. Sango's arm was bandaged over a nasty cut and Miroku was sitting awkwardly from where a yokai had managed to slash his rear. Rin sat with Muteki in her lap, perfectly fine because Sesshoumaru's yoki inside her healed her at the same rate of a hanyou. Sesshoumaru sat beside his mate, his left arm missing once again but otherwise uninjured. Inuyasha and Kagome had already healed from their injuries, and Shippou's black eye had healed within a few hours of the fight. Kaede, after tending to the normal humans' injuries once more, had joined the group in the courtyard, and now all eyes were on Kagome, the reason for the meeting.

Kagome fidgeted nervously as she tried to figure out a way to explain why she no longer had any miko powers. In the end, it was Sango who spoke first. "You know... I always thought it was strange how you didn't purify yourself when Inuyasha was giving you his yoki and then when he turned you." She said. "How long, exactly, have your powers been gone?"

"I... still had my powers when Inuyasha was marking me." Kagome told them. "But they were already fading at that time, so Inuyasha was able to give me his yoki without worrying that I would purify it."

"Why were your powers fading?" Rin asked. Kagome hesitated and looked to Kaede.

"You know about this, Kaede... help?" Kagome asked, pleading with the older woman to help her explain. Kaede merely nodded and the group turned their attention to her.

"Simply put, Kagome had decided in her heart by then that she wanted to marry Inuyasha." Kaede explained.

"I don't understand..." Miroku frowned. "Why would her powers fade simply because of that."

"That is because, unlike monks, miko lose their powers when they lose their purity." Kaede explained. "In other words, Kagome knew she would soon lose her purity by becoming Inuyasha's wife. By acknowledging this in her mind and heart, her powers began to slowly dissipate to lessen the strain on her body when she finally lost her powers completely. This way she would not feel incredibly weakened when she lost her powers."

"When I noticed that my powers were getting weaker I went to Kaede." Kagome said quietly. "It scared me, so I took Inuyasha with me."

"That conversation was awkward, to say the least." Inuyasha sighed as Kagome blushed. "But that's how I figured out that I would actually be able to mark her without her purifying my yoki. At that time, my yoki was already stronger than her powers. The most she could do was shoot an arrow that could probably only purify Shippou, nothing more."

"And then, the night Inuyasha made me his mate, I lost my powers completely..." Kagome sighed.

"I don't get it." Shippou frowned. "What does becoming a mate have to do with being a miko?"

"I'll explain it to you when you're older, kid." Inuyasha sighed.

"So, you knew that you would lose your powers when you mated with Inuyasha?" Sango asked Kagome now. Kagome nodded.

"I was fine with it." she said quietly. "I would rather be with Inuyasha than be a powerful miko that everyone asks for help from constantly." She sighed, remembering how exhausting it was when several people came to her at once with different problems. "Besides, even though I lost my miko powers, Inuyasha's yoki turned me into a hanyou. I can still fight."

"Just not on the new moon." Miroku added.

"But we can change that." Sango and Rin said together. "I can teacher her hand-to-hand combat." Sango said.

"And I can teach her what Sesshoumaru taught me with a sword." Rin added. "Knowing how to fight properly will make it a lot safer for her during the new moon. Even I managed to kill a yokai that night." Rin smiled at her mate happily, who smiled lightly in return, proud of his Rin for being a strong fighter. Inuyasha, however, merely crossed his arms and frowned.

"Don't you think I've tried to teach her all that?" he sighed at his friends. "When Kagome was learning to control her new powers I tried to teach her those things, and she learned quickly. But, on the nights of the new moon, she was as graceful as a cat with only three lags and no whiskers for balance."

"It's because I can't see or hear or smell anything!" Kagome complained to her mate. "How do you survive, Inuyasha?! It's awful!"

"No you know why I hate the new moon so much." Inuyasha smirked. "No offense to you humans, but being human stinks."

"I agree." Kagome pouted, highly aware of the fact that she'd been human until just over a year ago. She was about to continue on to tell her friends that she was simply going to go to the palace early on the nights of the full moon, but then she saw Senshi playing just a little too roughly with Yuusuke. "Inu-chan, be nice!" She scolded as she hurried to her feet to go after her son, leaving the others to sit there and realize that Kagome simply wouldn't be able to defend herself when she was human. They could only pray that another incident like the other night would never occur again... but they all knew it would. Strange things always happened on the nights of the new moon.

-Helloooo Nurse! Who can tell me where that's from? ;)

Anywho... did you like? I apologize again for my crappy battle scene (I'm seriously not good at those) but I hope you enjoyed nonetheless. At least the rest of the chapter was a little better, right? Or was it bad, too? Sigh... I'm a little scatterbrained and emotional right now, for reasons you shall never know (take your best guess and go with it, even though it's probably wrong)

Okay! Back to my cheery self! I seriously hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please tell me (nicely) if you didn't. I tried to explain why Kagome lost her powers in a way that seemed appropriate for the fuedal era, but here's the dumbed-down version if you still didn't understand.

-Pretty much, Kagome's powers were fading because she knew she was going to marry, mate, or at least sleep with Inuyasha soon. In other words, she knew she was going to lose her virginity. So, because she knew this, her powers reacted to it and began to fade before she lost her virginity. that way she wouldn't lose them all at once and be exhausted to the point of (maybe) death from being so powerless so quickly. (Then again, turning hanyou might have given her back some strength) In any case, once she finally did lose her virginity her powers were gone forever because, in my opinion, a miko should be a virgin. (now what does that say about Kaede? And Kikyo, for that matter?_ Laughs cruelly at Kikyo. Stops, frowns sympathetically at Kaede. Stops again, looks in mirror, then sighs heavily.)_

Okay, well I'm going to go now. I might not be back for a while, on this story, but please read my others! Oh, and I'm thinking of doing a fanfic about the greek gods and goddesses, mostly featuring Poseidon and a romance with Amphitrite, who legend says was his primary wife. (Google it; it's interesting) If anyone is interested in helping me with some ideas, please send me a PM.

Bye bye everyone!

-Aozora12

Oh, and notice the rating change please! Pesky rules... it's not like I go into every graphic detail or anything!


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

A gentle breeze blew through the clearing behind Inuyasha's palace, making the grass sway and appear as a bright green ocean. Kagome smiled at the sight, remembering her yearly vacations with her family to the beach as she hung laundry to dry behind the palace. Those vacations were fun times. Her mother would hover over Souta to wear sunscreen and her grandfather would refuse to go in the water for fear of an ocean yokai. But being on the beach with her family was fun. How she wished she could see them again... but it was worth it to be away from them if she could stay with Inuyasha and their pup.

"Kaa-san!" a cheery voice called from across the field. Kagome looked up to see Senshi running toward her, followed closely by Shippou. Boy boys were laughing happily as they ran toward her. Senshi looked almost like he was five years old now, even though he was just over a year in age, and Shippou had grown a little in the past month as well, looking to be nearly thirteen years of age. He enjoyed looking after Senshi and playing with him down by the river, which was where they had been until just now.

Senshi ran up to his mother, who smiled gently and picked him up. "Hello, Inu-chan, Shippou." Kagome smiled sweetly at the boys. "What have you been doing today?"

"We went down to the river, Kagome." Shippou smiled. "Miroku was down there, too, so we got to help him fish. Senshi caught a fish with his bare hands!" Shippou said happily as he smiled at his adopted younger brother.

"Like tou-san does!" Senshi added happily. "But the fish was slippy and I dropped it in the water, kaa-san." Kagome giggled and pulled on the boy's shirt.

"Well, that explained why you're wet." she smiled before turning to Shippou. "Have you seen Inuyasha anywhere?"

"He was in his tree, the last time I saw him." Shippou answered. "Why?"

"I have a question for him, is all." Kagome smiled. "Why don't you two go visit Sango-chan and play with the twins and Yuusuke-kun for a while? She probably has her hands full with those three and the triplets."

"As long as Mio-chan doesn't pull my ears." Senshi frowned, hopping down from his mother's arms.

"Don't worry, Senshi. I'll distract them with my tail." Shippou assured the younger boy before they hurried off to Sango's house. Kagome smiled lightly and watched the boys leave before she, returned to the laundry. Once all the wet clothes were hanging on the clothesline in the warm spring sunlight, she put away the laundry basket and headed toward the village.

-break-

Inuyasha gazed out over the valley, scanning diligently for any signs of trouble. Farmers were working in the fields, women and children walked around the village, and a hut in the distance was getting its roof repaired. He glanced in the direction of his palace, smiling lightly as he saw Senshi and Shippou running toward the village. Senshi was too slow for Shippou's liking so the older kit picked up the young pup and ran down the hill with him, heading for Sango's house, probably at Kagome's suggestion. He watched the kit and his son until they reached Sango's house, where three little ones were playing around in the grass while Sango hung up laundry to dry, her three infants asleep in basket cradles nearby.

After several minutes he noticed Kagome emerge from the forest as well, heading towards the center of the village. There was no doubt that she was coming to see him. Inuyasha wanted to go to her so she wouldn't have to walk so much, but he couldn't simply abandon his post as the village's guardian. So he waited for his mate to come to him. Soon enough she was standing under his tree. Normally she would have jumped up to sit on his branch with him, but she didn't do that this time... and they both knew why. So, quickly, Inuyasha jumped down, scooped her up in his arms, and then returned to his branch.

"Inuyasha... you know why I'm here." Kagome said quietly after sitting with her mate in silence for a few minutes.

"I know." he smiled lightly. "I was waiting to see how long it would take you to figure it out."

"So I really am...?"

"Yes. You're with pup." Inuyasha looked down at his mate with a tender smile. "Ten days pregnant with a girl." He leaned down and nuzzled her mating mark lovingly as he inhaled the scent of her pregnancy. Kagome smiled happily and felt her heart flutter with excitement at the thought of having a daughter. She had noticed the change in her scent that confirmed her pregnancy this morning, when she was bathing, although she'd had her suspicions for at least three days. Actually having it confirmed by her mate, however, made it seem all the more real. She couldn't help but smile brightly and kiss her mate in joy.

"Another pup! And it's a girl! I'm so happy..." Kagome smiled as she rested her head on her mate's chest. "I wonder how Inu-chan is going to like being a brother. I'll bet he loves his little sister... he's so good around younger children."

"Although those younger children are actually older than he is." Inuyasha smirked. "He's only a year old, despite how he looks."

"I know... it's really strange how quickly he's grown, but I guess that's normal for inu hanyou." Kagome sighed. "He's going to age like a human now, isn't he?"

"Yeah. He'll age normally until he looks like he's about eighteen. By then he'll only be thirteen. Then his aging will slow to that of a yokai's and he'll live for hundreds of years with us." Inuyasha smiled. "You and I, Kagome... we've got a long life ahead of us with our children and grandchildren and so on..."

"How many pups will we have, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked now. "I know you want a lot, but how many, exactly?"

"Not sure. I don't want so many that we can't count them all so... less than ten, but more than five." Inuyasha said. "How about seven or eight?"

"Let's compromise for my sake and make it six." Kagome giggled. "You forget who has to give birth to them all. I don't think I can handle eight births."

"True. Why don't we wait a few years after this one? Your body will get to rest and the pups will be old enough to look after themselves while we're away at the den for you to give birth." Inuyasha suggested. Kagome nodded approvingly but then frowned.

"What will we do with Inu-chan while we're at the den this time?" she asked.

"We can't take him with us. I doubt he'll like seeing his kaa-san in pain during the birth. Plus we'd be aggressive toward him around the pup. Sango and Miroku already have their hands full with six children plus a kitsune kit. Kaede is getting along in her years and probably couldn't keep up with Senshi for three months. That leaves Sesshoumaru, if he's in a good enough mood. I'm sure Rin wouldn't mind watching him."

"Three months without Inu-chan..." Kagome sighed, frowning at the thought. She didn't like the idea of being away from her pup for so long, but she knew it was necessary. Her instincts would take over once she gave birth and she would not let Senshi anywhere near her or the baby. Inuyasha's instincts would also be on alert and, while he wouldn't be nearly as aggressive as she would be toward their son, he would still keep Senshi a good distance away from his mother... at least until Kagome recovered from the birth and her instincts settled down. Kagome sighed at the thought of leaving Senshi with Rin and Sesshoumaru and their pup... but then a thought struck her. "Wait, Rin is going to be marked this month." Kagome told her husband. "They'll be gone for the next three months, and then they'll be aggressive for a few months after that... will Inu-chan be alright with them?"

"I already thought of that." Inuyasha smiled lightly. "Since Senshi is part of the pack, and because he's still very young, Sesshoumaru and Rin will be fine with him. Remember how we were when we returned after I mated you? As long as the boys hadn't hit puberty yet I was fine if you were around them. Senshi is still very young so Sesshoumaru won't have any worries about our son being around Rin and his pup." Kagome sighed in relief now. She didn't want her son to possibly be in danger around Sesshoumaru.

"Should we tell them about our plans before they leave?" Kagome asked her mate now. Inuyasha smirked.

"I'm a step ahead of you, mate. I've already sent Sesshoumaru a letter. His response should come within the next day or so." he smirked. Then he sighed and looked out over the valley, scanning for anything unusual before glancing down at his mate again. "You'll have to go to Kaede and ask her for some more vitamins. When hanyou are pregnant their immune systems are weakened to that of a human's. True, it's a healthy human's immune system... but you could very well get sick, Kagome." Inuyasha told her.

"Well, let me down and I'll go speak with Kaede and tell her the news." Kagome smiled. "I can't wait to tell everyone. Sango will be so excited." Inuyasha smiled back at his mate and jumped down to the ground, landing softly so he wouldn't jar his pregnant mate. He put her down on her feet and then gave her a sweet and gentle kiss.

"Be careful, okay?" He smiled lightly at her. "I don't want anything to happen to you two. If anything happens, anything at all... even if you trip or stub your toe or get a splinter... come get me, okay?"

"Okay." Kagome agreed with a soft smile as she put her head under her mate's chin, a sign of submission that told him that she would do what he said and get him right away if something happened. Inuyasha smiled lightly at this and gave one of her ears a gentle scratch. Kagome sighed happily at the scratch and leaned into his touch. Now she knew why Inuyasha liked having his ears rubbed, even if he wouldn't admit it. It was such a pleasant feeling. But she also knew why he didn't want many people to go near his ears. Even a small tug could really hurt. Kagome had apologized to him many times over since they mated for always pulling his ears when she was mad. She'd never realized just how painful that was.

Inuyasha chuckled lightly as Kagome began to purr while he scratched her ear. When he removed his hand she whimpered in protest and lowered her ears. Inuyasha smiled lightly and kissed her forehead. "I have to keep watch, Kagome. Go on to Kaede's and Sango's. I'll come home early today and we can _celebrate_ about the baby." He grinned, his voice low and sensual as he spoke the last sentence. Kagome blushed lightly and gave her mate a small smile.

"Alright. But take a break for lunch and I'll bring you some of the soup I made." She smiled. Inuyasha nodded and gave her one last kiss before jumping back into the tree.

"Be careful, mate." He called down to her as she turned and walked away.

"I will." She called back. "I'll come back around noon with lunch."

"I'll be waiting."

**-end chapter-**

-Hello everyone! Aren't you glad it's finally spring again?! If only spring didn't come with bothersome allergies that kept me from updating as much... Sorry for the long wait, everyone, and sorry for the sort-of short chapter. It might be a while until i release the next chapter, too, because I'm getting ready to graduate and that comes with finals and graduation rehearsals and whatnot... and then college visits and so on and so forth. So the next update may not be until the end of may, but I will try my hardest to update before then, if i can.

Anyways, who wants to help me name the new pup? Please give me some suggestions!

One more thing: I have a rough draft of a lemon for A Mute Mate, but I've never written a lemon before so I'm looking for people who want to read it and tell me what they think. If you're interested please send me a private message and I will copy-n-paste the rough draft to a message for you to read and critique.

Thanks for reading and, like always, please review!

Yours Truly,

-Aozora12


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty Two

LISTEN UP! I had a few typos in the last chapter and you need to read this to understand this chapter! I had a miscalculation of time and, in the last chapter, it was actually supposed to be a month AFTER Rin and Sesshoumaru became mates, not the month of. Okay, so: Rin and Sesshoumaru are already mates and are currently in their den and won't be out for another two or three months. Inuyasha sent a letter to Sesshoumaru in the last chapter, but that letter was (new info) taken to him by a messenger cloud that I just now made up that Inuyasha can use. Okay, got it? Sesshoumaru will get the letter at his den and respond in this chapter. ALSO I take back what Inuyasha said about being aggressive toward Senshi around the pup. He's their pup, too, so they wouldn't mind so much. Okay, so that's all. Here's the new chapter:

Start:

Kagome smiled happily and allowed Kaede to give her a check-up using her miko powers. The old miko moved her hands over Kagome's stomach, her palms glowing a dull pink color as she examined the health of Kagome's pup. Kaede smiled gently at the younger woman when she sat back.

"You and your child are very healthy, Kagome." Kaede informed her. "The child is very strong for its age, and I believe you will have no worries during your pregnancy. I shall send a messenger to Jinenji-san for some vitamins for ye, just in case."

"Thank you." Kagome smiled. She moved to stand, but Kaede stopped her.

"I have a question for ye, Kagome." Kaede said as Kagome sat back down. "What will ye do with Senshi while ye and Inuyasha are at your den to deliver the pup?"

"Inuyasha told me that he's asked Sesshoumaru and Rin to watch him." Kagome answered.

"But they are newly mated. Will they not be aggressive toward others for a while?" Kaede questioned.

"Well, Inu-chan is only a pup, Kaede-basan. Sesshoumaru will let him near his mate as long as Senshi hasn't reached puberty yet, which is still a few years away." Kagome explained. "If Sesshoumaru says no we'll have to find someone else to watch Inu-chan. I don't want to leave him with Sango. Her house is too full as it is. And he's too wild for you to possibly control, Kaede-basan. I'm sure Inuyasha has a back-up plan, but we're still hoping that Sesshoumaru will look after his nephew for a while."

-break-

Inuyasha sighed heavily as he reread his brother's response.

_My apologies, Inuyasha. Rin didn't become a hanyou like we expected; she became a full yokai because my blood is much more powerful and potent than I ever imagined. She's going to need much more time to get used to her changes before we could even return home, let alone watch your pup. Congratulations, however, on the upcoming pup. Give your mate my regards. Signed- Lord Sesshoumaru._

What was he going to do with Senshi while he and Kagome were at their den for the birth? Sure, Senshi would be perfectly safe around him and his mate before and after the birth. He was their pup, after all, and they would not be aggressive toward him. But Inuyasha knew that their pup would not be happy about his mother being in pain while giving birth, and he would want to be by her side to comfort her... which Inuyasha couldn't allow. Senshi would have to stay outside the den during the birth, so Kagome and the pup would be more comfortable. A crying Senshi would only give Kagome and the new pup more stress than they needed.

Sighing again, Inuyasha went through his mental list of friends that would be able to watch his son for a few months. Sango and Miroku had too many kids for their own good, and the triplets were taking up most of their time. Kaede was getting along in her years and couldn't possibly keep up with the wild pup. Shippou was too young to watch Senshi by himself, and he was away for kitsune training. Sesshoumaru and Rin were still at their den, their pup in the safe hands of the servants at Sesshoumaru's palace. He had kept in touch with Jinenji over the years, but the horse hanyou was busy healing villagers. Plus he didn't seem like he would be able to handle the rambunctious pup, either. That left... oh, was he really the ONLY one?! Why did it have to be Kouga?!

-break-

"He said no?" Kagome frowned as she folded laundry in their room later that evening. Inuyasha sighed again; he's been doing that a lot today.

"Yeah, it seems our father's blood combined with his mother's blood was potent enough to make Rin a full yokai, so she's going to need more time at the den." he explained to his mate.

"Then what are we gong to do with Inu-chan?" Kagome asked.

"Well, I thought about who all could possibly watch him and came up short on people. The only person, and I mean the ONLY person, that I thought of who could possibly watch Senshi for a few months is Kouga." Inuyasha frowned. "And that thought alone is enough to make me want to just take Senshi with us to the den. That wolf would probably turn our son against me."

"No, he won't. Stop exaggerating. And we can't take Senshi to the den with us. You know Inu-chan will be upset when I give birth. And then he'll be so bored in the den with nothing to do."

"Well, he could help me with hunting. I'm sure he'd like that." Inuyasha suggested. "And you've seen how he acts around babies. He loves them. I'm sure he'd be happy to play with the pup."

"Yeah, but what about during the birth? He can't be in the den and he'll be upset because he'll hear his kaa-san in pain." Kagome frowned.

"Well, maybe we could make him sleep during the birth. You know, give him a tea with some medicine in it to make him sleep?" Her mate questioned. "And, since he'll be out of it, he won't have to leave the den when the pup comes. When he wakes up he'll be a big brother, and we can tell him something like fairies brought his little sister to us while he slept." Kagome stared at her mate quizzically now, surprised at what she was hearing.

"Who are you and where is my idiotic mate?" she demanded, half-joking. "I know my mate couldn't come up with an idea like that on his own..."

"Oh, my mate thinks I am stupid? It pains my heart to hear that..." Inuyasha frowned, feigning hurt. "How little faith you have in me, my koi. Fine, I can be stupid for the rest of my life and let you make all the big decisions like how to make money or defend our home from yokai or talk to the village chief about an advanced defense system that will protect the villagers from thieves."

"No, no... I didn't mean it." Kagome pouted at her mate. "You're not stupid Inuyasha... I just didn't expect you to come up with an idea like that."

"Feh. I don't believe you." He smirked playfully, showing off a single fang, as he stretched out on the futon, crossing his arms behind his head. "I can't believe it... my mate thinks I'm stupid. I would expect it from Kaede or Miroku... but my mate? My feelings are hurt now." Kagome fake frowned and put aside the laundry, crawling onto the futon and resting her head on her mate's chest.

"My mate is very intelligent. You've saved me with your intelligence more times than I can count. You're not stupid." she told him, being honest rather than playful this time. Inuyasha chuckled, and she felt the vibrations from his chest move throughout her body. The next thing she knew she was on her back on the futon, her mate leaning over her as he gave her a sweet chaste kiss.

"That's better, koi." he grinned after the kiss. Then he sat up from her and gently pulled her into a sitting position. "Look, if you want, I will still ask Kouga to watch Senshi. But, if he says no, we'll have to take Senshi with us. There's nobody else left to watch him. At least we have a plan to keep him from being upset during the birth."

"Alright." Kagome sighed. "It is a good idea, after all. If Inu-chan is asleep we won't have to worry about upsetting him."

"So, do you want me to ask Kouga, still?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome hesitated and then sighed.

"If you really don't want Kouga to watch Inu-chan... then I suppose you don't have to." she told him. "It's your call, mate. You're the head of the family, so you decide." Inuyasha stared at her in surprise for a moment before smiling softly at his mate. He still wasn't quite used to her letting him make the final decision on important things like this. He supposed that this was simply due to the fact that, with being a mother and a mate, Kagome was becoming slightly domesticated. Her fiery temper would never go away, but she was beginning to recognize Inuyasha as the head of the family and the one who was supposed to make the decisions, with her help, of course. But she knew that he always had the final say, even if he sometimes conceded to her will. He was her mate and alpha and could always make her submit by force if he needed to... but Kagome knew it was easier if she just gave in when he was serious about something.

"Thank you, koi." Inuyasha smiled gently at his mate. "Senshi will come with us to the den. I don't trust Kouga enough to leave my son with him alone for three months." He leaned forward and gave his mate a quick peck on the lips.

"You realize I'm only allowing this because you thought of a way to keep Inu-chan from being upset, right?" Kagome smiled lightly. "If you hadn't suddenly turned into a genius I would make you leave Inu-chan with Kouga."

"And now we're back to calling me stupid." Inuyasha laughed, standing up and heading toward the door with a playful smirk on his lips. "I guess that means I'm too stupid to satisfy my mate tonight. Maybe I should go patrolling instead?" Kagome gasped and quickly ran to him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I'm sorry, Inu. Please don't go. You know how I am when I'm with pup." she complained, appalled at his mere threat to leave her for patrol while she was with pup and extremely horny due to her overactive hormones.

"Hm, maybe you should have thought of that before you called your mate stupid. I'm afraid you've even upset my beast, and you know words won't appease him." Inuyasha grinned, turning in her arms to face her. Kagome pouted, hating the way he was teasing her, but conceded anyway. She leaned forward and licked the underside of his chin in apology, making sure to lower her ears so he would believe her. Inuyasha chuckled lightly and nuzzled his mate's neck. "You're so fun to tease, mate." he grinned as he began to ravish her neck with kisses and gentle nips.

Kagome sighed happily in her mate's arms as he continued his ministrations with her neck, paying particular attention to her mating mark. When he moved to kiss her lips they were stopped by a quiet knock at their bedroom door. Inuyasha sighed lightly as he stepped back from his mate, and then smiled softly at her. "Sorry, mate. It seems you'll have to wait, after all." he told her with a quick kiss to her nose before he turned to open the bedroom door. Senshi stood there, obviously exhausted as he rubbed his eyes. "Hey, pal. Why aren't you in bed?"

"Tou-san, can I sleep with you and kaa-san?" Senshi asked sleepily.

"Inu-chan, what's wrong?" Kagome asked, moving past her mate to kneel in front of her pup. Senshi stared up at her and whimpered, his ears flat against his skull. He quickly moved into his mother's arms.

"I had a scary dream, kaa-san." the boy whimpered. Kagome pulled her son into her arms and held him close, gently rocking with the frightened pup. Inuyasha kneeled down beside them and gently ruffled his son's hair, getting his attention. When Senshi looked up at him Inuyasha smiled lightly.

"Why don't you come with me to get a drink so your kaa-san can get ready for bed?" he suggested. Senshi nodded and moved into his father's arms. Inuyasha picked his son up and smiled lightly at his mate. "We'll be back in a few minutes, mate." he told her. Kagome nodded and watched her mate carry their son to the kitchen area of their palace to get him a drink of water. Then she went back into their room to change into a loose sleeping kimono and then brush her hair.

A few short minutes Inuyasha returned with a drowsy pup in his arms. Kagome smiled at the sight of a father and his young son. Inuyasha walked over to her and handed her their son so he could change into some sleeping clothes as well. Then all three - no, four now that Kagome was with pup - lay down on the futon. Inuyasha held his mate against his chest, his arms circled around her waist. Kagome held Senshi close to her, the pup gently nuzzling his mother's bosom as he quickly drifted off to sleep. As they lay in the room in silence Kagome began to feel her *ahem* need *ahem* once more. _Stupid pregnant hormones,_ Kagome complained to herself. She heard and felt her mate chuckle quietly as he nuzzled her neck once more, breathing in the scent of her arousal.

"I'll take tomorrow off, mate, and we'll go somewhere to be alone for a while." Inuyasha whispered in her ear. "Surely you can last one more night."

"Stupid inu hormones." Kagome grumbled in response before she, too, drifted off to sleep, leaving Inuyasha chuckling alone in the dark. He kissed his mate's forehead and then followed her into the land of dreams, content and at peace with his beautiful pregnant mate and healthy son. Yes, everything was, for the first time in his life, absolutely perfect. For once he was happy and content with his life.

-end chapter-

Hi peoples! I'm sooo sorry it took so long but I have finally posted the next chapter! I hope you liked it. It's a little bit longer than the other chapters so I hope that makes up for the lateness. It's going to be a while for the next chapter because my schedule is becoming hectic with high school Graduation only two weeks away and then a college final this week and several tests and essays and more tests and homework and I've got a headache just thinking about it all so... yeah, I won't be updating for a while.

Anyways, please review! I'm still taking suggestions for the new pup's name.

I'm also still working on A Mute Mate so don't freak out if you think I've stopped that. It's just taking a while because I have writer's block mixed along with being busy.

Ok, well until next time!

-Aozora12


	23. I'm back!

I'm baaaccckkk...

Hello to all my beloved readers. This is my official return to fanfiction after taking a 3 month break to refocus on God. Now that I am sure this will no longer be an obsession I have decided to reward everyone's patience with a chapter update. All my stories will be updated sometime within the next week! And I might even post a new story here soon, too. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding with my situation. I know I scared a lot of you when I said I was leaving for good, so I apologize. I will make this clear, however. If I feel like this is becoming an obsession again, I will take another break. If that happens I will tell you in my stories, but I do not think it will happen again.

Thank you so much for putting up with me. I am so thankful to have such wonderful readers like you. :)

One last thing, I will not appreciate rude reviews or comments about my religion. It is my choice to be a Christian and to live how God wants me to. I do not condemn people for not believing what I believe. I don't go around hating on atheists or gays or anything like that. In fact, I have friends that are atheist and/or gay. All I do is show them that I live how God wants me to. I do not try to convert people, I merely share what I believe and leave it up to them to decide if they want to know more. I know my religious views may offend some people in other religions, and I apologize if that is the case, but I will not apologize for believing what I believe or for following Jesus. Therefore, I do request that foul language not be used in my reviews, or that anyone posts anything hateful about my religion. Constructive criticism on my stories is well-recieved, so long as it is polite and courteous.

Thank you,

Aozora12


	24. Author's Note

Hello to my wonderful readers! I would just like to let you know that, currently, I have very little to add to this story. I can continue with it if my readers want to, but know that it will not be as good as earlier on in the story since I will practically be forced to think of things to add. Right now I am considering writing one more chapter and then adding an epilogue. After That I haven't the slightest idea of what to write. To me, this story is pretty much finished.

Before anyone suggests it, I have no interest in anyone adopting this story. Not that I don't believe in my readers' abilities to write (although the greater majority of stories I've read had so many typos and grammatical errors that it drives me crazy), but I feel it will be obvious to everyone that the author has changed if this story is adopted. My writing style is unique, just like everyone else's writing styles are unique. Plus, I'm rather attached to this story and the thought of someone else finishing it for me just... I don't even want to go there.

Anyways, this authors note is pretty much a question. Should I find a way to continue the story or should I go with what I want and finish it?

Be warned, continuing this story means I will not update as much and it will likely result in a poorer plot than what I've been following.

That is all. Thanks for reading this story, and please read my others, too.

Thank you very much,

Aozora12


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